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Brachylophus vitiensis GIBBONS, 1981

IUCN Red List - Brachylophus vitiensis - Critically Endangered, CR
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Higher TaxaIguanidae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Fiji Crested lguana 
SynonymBrachylophus vitiensis GIBBONS 1981
Brachylophus vitiensis — PREGILL & WORTHY 2003 
DistributionFiji Islands (Yaduataba)

Type locality: Fiji:Yaduataba Island  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MCZ R-157192; paratypes: MCZ, BMNH, Fiji museum 
DiagnosisDiagnosis A larger species than Brachylophus fasciatus, both sexes having having a snout-vent length of 18.5-22.0 cm when adult compared to 13.6-19.3 cm for B. fasciatus; ground color light green in both sexes and with two or three narrow, white vertical bands not exceeding 1 cm in width on the trunk region, and a similar band dipping diagonally toward from nape to tympanum; ventral color pale green with white mottling ventro-laterally; iris color pinkish-gold; nostril scale yellowish and larger than in B. fasciatus; ground coloration exhibiting capacity for color change from light green to grey or black, with lability especially well developed in males; crest structure of conical soft spines, brownish in color, the longest on the nape recurved and reaching 1.2 cm; dewlap large and square in outline as opposed to smaller and convex in B. fasciatus; sexual dimorphism slight and restricted to presence of distinct gular pouch, larger femoral pores, and more intense dark coloration in males; initial egg weight 18-19 g as opposed to 9-10 g in B. fasciatus; hatchlings 18.1-20.0 g as opposed to 8.2-13.0 g in B. fasciatus; mean total length of hatchlings 28.2 cm as opposed to 24.1 cm in B. fasciatus; 8-10 upper labial scales on a side, 8-10 lower labials, as opposed to 6 8 labials for B. fasciatus in each instance. (Gibbons 1981)


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CommentThis species is critically endangered.

Abundance: Rare. This is one of the species called 'lost' and 'rediscovered' by Lindken et al. 2024. 
EtymologyNamed after “Viti”, the Fijian name for Fiji. 
References
  • Alberts, A.C.; Carter, R.L.; Hayes, W.K. & Martins, E.P. (eds.) 2004. Iguanas - Biology and Conservation. University of California Press, 356 pp. - get paper here
  • Anstey, Stephen. 2022. Saving the Fijian Crested Iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis). Reptiles & Amphibians 29(1): 243–249. - get paper here
  • Buckley, Larry J.; Kevin de Queiroz, Tandora D. Grant, Bradford D. Hollingsworth, John B. Iverson (Chair, <br />Stesha A. Pasachnik, and Catherine L. Stephen (Iguana Taxonomy Working Group, ITWG 2016. A Checklist of the Iguanas of the World (Iguanidae; Iguaninae). Herp. Cons. Biol. 11 (Monograph 6) - get paper here
  • Burns, E.L.; Costello, B.H.; Houlden, B.A. 2007. Three evolutionary significant units for conservation in the iguanid genus Brachylophus. Pacific Conservation Biology 123(1): 64-78 - get paper here
  • Colgan, D. J.;Da Costa, P. 1997. Genetic discrimination between the iguanas Brachylophus vitiensis and Brachylophus fasciatus. Journal of Herpetology 31 (4): 589-591 - get paper here
  • Gibbons, J.R.H. 1981. The biogeography of Brachylophus (Iguanidae) including the description of a new species, B. vitiensis, from Fiji. Journal of Herpetology 15 (3): 255-273 - get paper here
  • Gibbons, J.R.H. 1984. Iguanas of the South Pacific. Oryx 18: 82-91. - get paper here
  • Gibbons, John R. H. 1984. Wildlife as Canon sees it: A photographic heritage for all generations: Fijian Crested Iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis). National Geographic 166(3):unnumbered
  • Harlow, P.S. & Biciloa, P.N. 2001. Abundance of the Fijian crested iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis) on two islands. Biol. Conservation 98: 223-231 - get paper here
  • Keogh JS, Edwards DL, Fisher RN, Harlow PS. 2008. Molecular and morphological analysis of the critically endangered Fijian iguanas reveals cryptic diversity and a complex biogeographic history. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 363(1508): 3413-26 - get paper here
  • Lindken T.; Anderson, C. V., Ariano-Sánchez, D., Barki, G., Biggs, C., Bowles, P., Chaitanya, R., Cronin, D. T., Jähnig, S. C., Jeschke, J. M., Kennerley, R. J., Lacher, T. E. Jr., Luedtke, J. A., Liu, C., Long, B., Mallon, D., Martin, G. M., Meiri, 2024. What factors influence the rediscovery of lost tetrapod species? Global Change Biology, 30: 1-18 - get paper here
  • Morrison SF, Biciloa P, Harlow PS, Keogh JS 2013. Spatial Ecology of the Critically Endangered Fijian Crested Iguana, Brachylophus vitiensis, in an Extremely Dense Population: Implications for Conservation. PLoS One 8 (9): e73127. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0073127 - get paper here
  • Morrison, C. 2003. A Field Guide to the Herpetofauna of Fiji. Suva, Fiji: Institute of Applied Sciences, University of the South Pacific, 121 pp.
  • MORRISON, SUZANNE F. & KIMBERLY M. ANDREWS. 2022. BRACHYLOPHUS VITIENSIS (Fijian Crested Iguana). SEED DISPERSAL. Herpetological Review 53 (1): 130.
  • Noonan, B.P. & Sites, J.W. Jr. 2010. Tracing the Origins of Iguanid Lizards and Boine Snakes of the Pacific. American Naturalist 175 (1): 61-72 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M.T. 1987. The iguanas of Fiji and Tonga. Herptile (Ayr, Scotland) 12(3): 108-109, 111-124. - get paper here
  • Parker, M.R. and Fitzgerald, L.A. 2024. Using life history to predict outcomes of conservation translocations of herpetofauna. Anim. Conserv. - get paper here
  • ZUG, G.R. 2013. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands. University of California Press, Berkeley, 306 pp. - get paper here
  • Zug,G. R. 1991. The lizards of Fiji: Natural history and systematics. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. 2: 1-136
 
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