Lesser Antillean Iguana

The Lesser Antilles iguana has a more blocky, shortened face than the green iguana and lacks the distinctive stripe pattern present along the green iguana's tail. The features that most easily distinguish these two species are the large, round scale below each ear as well as a striped tail which are both present in the green iguana but which the Lesser Antillean iguana lack. Recently, an assessment of morphometric and scale characteristics between green iguanas and the Lesser Antillean iguana showed another 13 characters that are different between both species, with green iguanas having relatively longer tails. The Lesser Antillean iguana varies in color between different island populations, but the base color tends to be gray, with green splotching on the underside. They have large pale, ivory colored scales on their heads. The jowls of males are pink and the scales around the eyes are blue. Males also have femoral pores along each inner thigh that exude pheromones during breeding season; males on St. Eustatius have between 18–22 pores. Males are larger than females and can grow up to 43.4 cm (17 in) long, with an 80 cm (31.5 in) tail when full-grown. Females can grow to approximately 38.5 cm (15 in), and can lay up to 30 eggs.

The Lesser Antillean iguana is found in scrub woodlands, rainforests, and mangroves throughout the Lesser Antilles on Saint Barth, Anguilla, St. Eustatius, Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Martinique. Since European settlement the species has disappeared from Sint Maarten, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Barbuda, Antigua, Marie Galante, and Îles des Saintes. The exact reasons for their disappearance differs on each island.

Lesser Antillean iguanas are primarily herbivores, feeding on leaves, flowers, seeds, fruit, and growing shoots of upwards of 100 different species of plant. They are known to consume manchineel (Hippomane mancinella), a tree species that produces chemicals that are toxic to mammals and birds. During the wet season (August to December), they consume leaves from various plants and also eat fruits from multiple plant species, including Barbados cherry (Malpighia emarginata) and manchineel. During the dry season (January to May), Lesser Antillean iguanas tend to consume more foliage than fruit. They commonly consume fruits from chink bush (Bourreria succulenta). A study on nests from St. Eustatius showed that inquilines make use of nest tunnels and nest chambers dug by female Lesser Antillean iguanas, suggesting that this species should be considered as an ecosystem engineer.

The generic name iguana is derived from iwana, a Spanish form of the Taino name for the species. Its specific name delicatissima is Latin for "delicate". The species was first officially described by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768.