. The ecological impact of man on the south Florida herpetofauna . Figure 20. Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguana {Ctenosaura pectinata). (LP) breeding in a small area adjacent to the Florida East Coast Railway at 37th Avenue (Douglas Road) and 75th Street. The vicinity is occupied by industrial buildings, but the lizards occur in the weeds growing along the railroad right-of-way and escape into holes un- derneath the buildings just north of the railroad. Ctenosaura pectinata. —T]\Q spiny-tailed iguana (Fig. 20) has been known to be established in the Miami area for many years (perhaps since the
. The ecological impact of man on the south Florida herpetofauna . Figure 20. Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguana {Ctenosaura pectinata). (LP) breeding in a small area adjacent to the Florida East Coast Railway at 37th Avenue (Douglas Road) and 75th Street. The vicinity is occupied by industrial buildings, but the lizards occur in the weeds growing along the railroad right-of-way and escape into holes un- derneath the buildings just north of the railroad. Ctenosaura pectinata. —T]\Q spiny-tailed iguana (Fig. 20) has been known to be established in the Miami area for many years (perhaps since the early 1960's), because specimens were brought into local pet stores. It was not until 1978, however, that the lizard was first reported in the literature, in a popularized article appearing in Flor- ida Wildlife (Eggert 1978), where it was erroneously identified as Ctenosaura similis. The colony is located along Old Cutler Road between Richmond Drive ( 168th Street) and Eureka Drive ( 184th Street) in an area supporting remnant hardwood ham- mock and pine flatwoods adjacent to Biscayne Bay. Much of this area is occupied by homes with extensive yards, fronted, in many cases, by oolite rock walls. Mangos and other tropical fruit trees have been planted in the area, and in scarified areas Australian pines have taken over. A large artificial lagoon lies between Old Cutler Road and the bay. The ground is sandy, a decided advantage for the lizards, enabling them to dig burrows in which to lay their eggs and to use as retreats. In one area of abandoned dwellings, numerous boards have been piled up which afford the lizards shelter. We have been observing this population since 1972. Recently the area in- habited by the nucleus of the population has undergone further modification. The abandoned houses have been torn down, some
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionbiodiversity, bookcontributorharv
