Ctenosaura pectinata
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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. The common names Mexican spiny-tailed iguana and black spiny-tailed iguana (among many other common names) have been loosely and informally applied to all three species at various times. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cañón del Sumidero National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Parque Zoológico de León - Zooleón | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Out of Africa Wildlife Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Guadalajara Zoo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Kyiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 6 | Zoológico del Altiplano | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | Gladys Porter Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Buin Zoo | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 9 | Safari Masai Mara | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 10 | Salisbury Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Crocoparc Agadir | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 12 | El Nispero Zoo | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 13 | Acuario Inbursa | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 14 | National Reptile Zoo | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 15 | Observatorio 1873 | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
No species of the same family or order lives in Puebla, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Guerreran Spiny-tailed Iguana sighting in Puebla on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 11 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and August
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Guerreran Spiny-tailed Iguana in Puebla on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, June–July and October–December, the lowest months. Those are among Puebla's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against 10 mm in December.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Guerreran Spiny-tailed Iguana sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Guerreran Spiny-tailed Iguana sightings, Puebla ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Guadalajara (México, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Guerreran Spiny-tailed Iguana is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Puebla (11 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
