NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Guerreran Spiny-tailed Iguana
Ctenosaura pectinata (Wiegmann, 1834)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Ctenosaura pectinata is a species of moderately large lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is native to western Mexico. The standardized English name is the western spiny-tailed iguana. However, an earlier edition of standardized names applied the name Mexican spinytailed iguana to Ctenosaura pectinata. Confoundedly the name Mexican spiny-tailed iguana was applied to Ctenosaura acanthura which was referred to as the northeastern spinytailed iguana in the earlier edition of standardized names. It has also been called simply the spiny-tailed iguana, black spiny-tailed iguana, Guerreran spiny-tailed Iguana, broad-ringed spiny-tailed iguana among other common names. The taxonomic status, relationships, and validity of a number of spiny-tailed iguana, particularly Ctenosaura acanthura, C. pectinata, and C. similis have an extensive history of confusion in both scientific and popular literature. The status and relationship of Ctenosaura acanthura and C. pectinata remains unstable (as of 2021) with some limited molecular evidence suggesting Ctenosaura acanthura is a synonym (the same species) of C. pectinata, while others recognize the two as allopathic, morphologically distinct species.
Wikipedia contributors, Ctenosaura pectinata; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:06:13.866138+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ctenosaura pectinata (Wiegmann, 1834)
- Name authority
- (Wiegmann, 1834)
- Common name
- Guerreran Spiny-tailed Iguana
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Iguanidae
- Genus
- Ctenosaura
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderIguania
- familyIguanidae
- genusCtenosaura
- speciesCtenosaura pectinata (Wiegmann, 1834)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ctenosaura. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| San Esteban Spinytail IguanaCtenosaura conspicuosa Dickerson, 1919 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yellow-backed Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura flavidorsalis Köhler & Klemmer, 1994 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Baja California Spiny- tailed IguanaCtenosaura hemilopha (Cope, 1863) | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nolasco Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura nolascensis Smith, 1972 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oaxaca Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura oaxacana Köhler & Hasbun, 2001 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Roatan Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura oedirhina de Queiroz, 1987 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Five-keeled Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura quinquecarinata (Gray, 1842) | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black IguanaCtenosaura similis (Gray, 1831) | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Northeastern Spinytail IguanaCtenosaura acanthura (Shaw, 1802) | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Baker's Spinytail IguanaCtenosaura bakeri Stejneger, 1901 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Balsas Armed LizardCtenosaura clarki Bailey, 1928 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cape Spinytail IguanaCtenosaura macrolopha Smith, 1972 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ctenosaura brevirostris Cope, 1886 Cope, 1886 | synonym |
| Ctenosaura parkeri Bailey, 1928 Bailey, 1928 | synonym |
| Cyclura pectinata Wiegmann, 1834 Wiegmann, 1834 | synonym |
| Ctenosaura teres brachylopha Cope, 1886 Cope, 1886 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Ctenosaura&species=pectinata Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3276P. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.