NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Hispaniolan Rhinoceros Iguana
Cyclura cornuta (Bonnaterre, 1789)
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.
Male Rhinoceros Iguana, Pedernales Province, Dominican Republic
Tim Ross · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta) is an endangered species of iguana that is (habituated) endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and its surrounding islands. A large lizard, they vary in length from 60 to 136 centimetres (24 to 54 in), and skin colours range from a steely grey to a dark green and even brown. Their name derives from the bony-plated pseudo-horn or outgrowth which resembles the horn of a rhinoceros on the iguana's snout. It is known to coexist with the Ricord's iguana (C. ricordii); the two species are the only taxa of rock iguana to do so.
Wikipedia contributors, Rhinoceros iguana; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:06:17.068149+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cyclura cornuta (Bonnaterre, 1789)
- Name authority
- (Bonnaterre, 1789)
- Common name
- Hispaniolan Rhinoceros Iguana
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Iguanidae
- Genus
- Cyclura
- 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
- genusCyclura
- speciesCyclura cornuta (Bonnaterre, 1789)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cyclura. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cyclura cychlura (Cuvier, 1829) | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Turks & Caicos IguanaCyclura carinata Harlan, 1824 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Grand Cayman Blue IguanaCyclura lewisi Grant, 1941 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Anegada Ground IguanaCyclura pinguis Barbour, 1917 | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ricord's Ground IguanaCyclura ricordii (Duméril & Bibron, 1837) | IguanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| White Cay Ground IguanaCyclura rileyi Stejneger, 1903 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Lacerta cornuta Bonnaterre, 1789 Bonnaterre, 1789 | 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=Cyclura&species=cornuta 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.
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:32YSW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.