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Ctenosaura melanosterna BUCKLEY & AXTELL, 1997

IUCN Red List - Ctenosaura melanosterna - Endangered, EN
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Higher TaxaIguanidae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Black-chested Spiny-tailed Iguana 
SynonymCtenosaura melanosterna BUCKLEY & AXTELL 1997
Ctenosaura melanosterna — KÖHLER 2000: 75
Ctenosaura (Loganiosaura) melanosterna — KÖHLER et al. 2000
Ctenosaura melanosterna — KÖHLER 2008: 140
Ctenosaura melanosterna — MCCRANIE 2018 
DistributionHonduras (Aguan Valley and the Cayos Cochinos/Hog Islands)

Type locality: 2 km S Coyoles Central, Yoro, Honduras.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: KU 101441, subadult male collected by A. C. Echternacht. 
Diagnosis 
CommentIts closest phylogenetic affinities are with C. palearis from the Motagua Valley in Guatemala with which it has previously been considered conspecific. 
EtymologyThe specific name melanosterna is derived from the Greek melanos (black) and sternon (chest), and refers ‘‘to the black chest and forelegs possessed by members of this species’’ (Buckley and Axtell, 1997: 139). Those black areas seem to occur only, or are at least stronger, in adult males. 
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
  • Boonman, John 2000. Ctenosaura melanosterna in captivity Podarcis 1 (4): 102-106 - get paper here
  • Buckley L J. & Axtell R W. 1997. Evidence for the specific status of the Honduran lizards formerly referred to Ctenosaura palearis (Reptilia: Squamata: Iguanidae). Copeia 1997 (1): 138-150 - 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
  • Gutsche, Alexander; Frank Köhler 2008. Phylogeography and hybridization in Ctenosaura species (Sauria, Iguanidae) from Caribbean Honduras: insights from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Zoosystematics and Evolution 84 (2): 245-253 - get paper here
  • Heuvel, W. van den 2001. Beobachtungen an Ctenosaura melanosterna in der Natur und im Terrarium. Iguana Rundschreiben 14 (2): 11-18
  • Köhler, G. 2000. Reptilien und Amphibien Mittelamerikas, Bd 1: Krokodile, Schildkröten, Echsen. Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach, 158 pp.
  • Köhler, G. 2008. Reptiles of Central America. 2nd Ed. Herpeton-Verlag, 400 pp.
  • Köhler, G.; W. Schroth & B. Streit 2000. Systematics of the Ctenosaura group of lizards (Reptilia: Sauria: Iguanidae). Amphibia-Reptilia 21 (2): 177-191 - get paper here
  • Malone, Catherine L.; Víctor Hugo Reynoso, Larry Buckley 2017. Never judge an iguana by its spines: Systematics of the Yucatan spiny tailed iguana, Ctenosaura defensor (Cope, 1866). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 115: 27-39 - get paper here
  • McCranie, James R. 2015. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with additions, comments on taxonomy, some recent taxonomic decisions, and areas of further studies needed. Zootaxa 3931 (3): 352–386 - get paper here
  • McCranie, James R. 2018. The Lizards, Crocodiles, and Turtles of Honduras. Systematics, Distribution, and Conservation. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Special Publication Series (2): 1- 666 - get paper here
  • Montgomery, Chad E.; Stesha A. Pasachnik, Leslie E. Ruyle, Julius A. Frazier, and Steven E. W. Green 2014. Natural history of the black-chested spiny-tailed iguanas, Ctenosaura melanosterna (Iguanidae), on Cayo Cochnino Menor, Honduras. Southwestern Naturalist Jun 2014, Vol. 59, No. 2: 280-285 - get paper here
  • Pasachnik, Stesha A.; Chad E. Montgomery, Leslie E. Ruyle, Jeffrey P. Corneil, and Edoardo E. Antunez 2012. Morphological and Demographic Analyses of the Blackchested Spiny-tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura melanosterna, Across their Range: Implications for Population Level Management. Herp. Cons. Biology 7 (3): - get paper here
  • Pasachnik, Stesha A.; James A. Danoff-Burg, Edoardo E. Antunez, and Jeffrey P. Corneil 2014. Local Knowledge and Use of the Valle de Aguan Spiny-Tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura melanosterna, in Honduras. Herp. Cons. Biol. 9 (2): - get paper here
  • Reed, Robert N., Stephen Green, Scott M. Boback and Chad E. Montgomery. 2006. Ctenosaura melanosterna Predation. Herpetological Review 37 (1): 84 - get paper here
  • Solís, J. M., L. D. Wilson, and J. H. Townsend. 2014. An updated list of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with comments on their nomenclature. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1: 123–144 - get paper here
  • van den Heuvel, Wim 2003. Beobachtungen an Ctenosaura melanosterna BUCKLEY & AXTELL 1997 in seinem natürlichen Verreitungsgebiet und im Terrarium. Elaphe 11 (3): 33-39
 
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