- Where to see one
- 3 U.S. zoos in our directory hold mexican spiny-tailed iguana, confirmed against each zoo's own animal list.
Conservation status
Not Evaluated
This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List, so it sits outside the threat scale entirely.
About the mexican spiny-tailed iguana
Ctenosaura pectinata is a moderately large iguana native to the coastal lowlands of western Mexico, from Sinaloa to extreme western Chiapas. Its standardized English name is the western spiny-tailed iguana, and the name Mexican spiny-tailed iguana has been applied loosely to several related species. Adults grow to 1.3 m including the tail, with keeled scales on the tail and a crest of long spines down the back. Hatchlings are bright green and darken with age. This social, fast-moving, diurnal lizard climbs well and favours rocky ground. Juveniles eat mostly insects, while adults are mainly herbivorous. Feral populations also live in Florida and Texas.
Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguana facts
- Hatchlings are bright green with no body pattern and darken as they age.
- Unlike most other Ctenosaura, it lives in groups instead of alone.
- Ctenosaura means comb lizard, for the comblike spines on its back and tail.
- Gasparilla Island, Florida, had an estimated 12,000 of these iguanas in 2007, descended from released pets.
Where to see mexican spiny-tailed iguana in the U.S.
3 zoos across 3 states
Find the closest one
Rank the 2 zoos holding mexican spiny-tailed iguana by how far they are from you. Your location is used in your browser to sort this list and is never sent to us.
1 more zoo holds mexican spiny-tailed iguana but has no coordinates on file yet, so it isn't ranked here. It's in the full list below.
California· 1
Florida· 1
Maryland· 1
AZAThe Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accredited members have passed an independent inspection of animal care and welfare, safety, conservation and education, repeated every five years. Many smaller facilities never apply, so “not accredited” isn't a verdict on its own. What accreditation means · How we check this
Built from each zoo's own published animal list.
