THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY
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Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Iguanidae  
Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana
Ctenosaura macrolopha Smith, 1972
TEE-noh-SAW-rah — mak-roh-LOH-fah
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SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Native to Mexico. A population of Ctenosaura established at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Arizona contains mitochondrial DNA from the Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana, but it remains uncertain whether this represents a pure population of this species or a hybrid swarm with the C. conspicuosa (Edwards et al., 2005, Sonoran Herpetologist 18: 122–125). Not listed in Meshaka et al. (2022, Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles of the United States. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, Florida.) (Krysko, Kenneth and Travis W. Taggart. 2025. Established Exotic Species. Pages 64-87 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)

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Open icons indicate questionable records, including those with coordinate uncertainty greater than 10,000 m (approximately 6 miles). Click a marker to view metadata.
Occurrences:; 774 Total; 55 Museum; 719 Other

The locality database contains 8,094,832 records, and geographic and taxonomic errors exist. Logged-in, registered users may report a potential issue directly from the marker popup.
Shaded range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH. (Version: 2024.07.02.08.03.39)
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Province/State Distribution:

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its prominent nuchal crest.
Ctenosaura — From Greek ktenos (κτενός), “comb,” and saura (σαύρα), “lizard.” The name means “comb lizard,” referring to the comb-like crest of enlarged spines running along the back and tail.
macrolopha — From Greek makros (μακρός), “large,” and lophos (λόφος), “crest.” The name means “large-crested,” referring to the prominent spines or crest on the neck and back.

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.


Selected References:
1972 Smith, Hobart M. The sonoran subspecies of the lizard Ctenosaura hemilopha. Great Basin Naturalist 32(2):104-111
2017 Bezy, Robert L., Philip C. Rosen, Thomas R. Van Devender, and Erik F. Enderson. Southern distributional limits of the Sonoran Desert herpetofauna along the mainland coast of northwestern Mexico. Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(1):138-167

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