Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2019-05-20
Page range: 201–232
Abstract views: 450
PDF downloaded: 5

A story of nasal horns: two new subspecies of Iguana Laurenti, 1768 (Squamata, Iguanidae) in Saint Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, and Grenada (southern Lesser Antilles)

Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Laboratoire des Reptiles et Amphibiens, Bâtiment 30, 57, rue Cuvier, CP n° 30, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France
Laboratoire Labofarm-Genindexe, 4 rue Théodore Botrel, 22600 Loudéac, France
Laboratoire Labofarm-Genindexe, 4 rue Théodore Botrel, 22600 Loudéac, France
Maison du Soleil, Dauphin Road, La Borne, P O Box GM 1109, Saint Lucia, West Indies
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augres Manor, Trinity, Jersey JE3 5BP, Great Britain
Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Co-operatives, Union, Saint Lucia, West Indies
Fauna & Flora International, David Attenborough Building Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augres Manor, Trinity, Jersey JE3 5BP, Great Britain
Forestry Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, Forestry, Fisheries and Rural Transformation, Richmond Hill, Kingstown, St Vincent & the Grenadines
Forestry Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, Forestry, Fisheries and Rural Transformation, Richmond Hill, Kingstown, St Vincent & the Grenadines
Laboratoire Écologie et Biologie des Interactions, équipe EES, UMR CNRS 6556, Université de Poitiers, 5 rue Albert Turpin, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, France
Division of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Laboratoire Écologie et Biologie des Interactions, équipe EES, UMR CNRS 6556, Université de Poitiers, 5 rue Albert Turpin, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, France
Reptilia Caribbean endemism hybridization Iguana introgression Lesser Antilles microsatellites mtDNA speciation

Abstract

The Lesser Antilles, in the Eastern Caribbean, were long considered to have only two species in the genus Iguana Laurenti 1768: the Lesser Antillean iguana Iguana delicatissima, which is endemic to parts of the Lesser Antilles, and the Common green iguana Iguana iguana, which also occurs throughout Central and South America. No subspecies are currently recognised. However, herpetologists and reptile collectors have pointed out strong physical differences between some of the island populations of Iguana iguana and those from the continent. Drawing on both morphological and genetic data, this paper describes two subspecies of the Common green iguana Iguana iguana from the southern Lesser Antilles, specifically the countries of Saint Lucia Iguana iguana sanctaluciae and Iguana iguana insularis from St Vincent & the Grenadines, and Grenada. The form on the island of Saint Vincent has not been identified. The new subspecies are described based on the following unique combination of characters: Presence of high median and medium to small lateral horns on the snout; Small subtympanic plate not exceeding 20% of the eardrum size; Two or three scales of decreasing size anterior to the subtympanic plate; Fewer than ten small to medium triangular gular spikes; Medium sized dewlap; Low number of small to medium dispersed nuchal tubercles; Dark brown iris, with the white of the eye visible; Oval, prominent nostril; Short and relatively flat head; High dorsal spines; No swelling of the jowls in reproductively active males.

                Iguana iguana sanctaluciae has in adults vertical black stripes on body and tail and a black dewlap whereas Iguana iguana insularis is pale grey or creamy white in adults.

                Both subspecies are globally threatened by unsustainable hunting (including the pet trade) and by invasive alien species,     including hybridization from invasive iguanas from South and Central America (I. iguana iguana and I. rhinolopha, considered here as full species) that have become established in all three countries. The authors call for stronger measures to conserve the remaining purebred Iguana i. insularis and Iguana i. sanctaluciae ssp. nov. throughout their ranges and for further research to identify other cryptic species and subspecies of Iguana in the Lesser Antilles.

References

  1. Auliya, M., Altherr, S., Ariano-Sanchez, D., Baard, E.H., Brown, C., Brown, R.M., Cantu, J.C., Gentile, G., Gildenhuys, P., Henningheim, E., Hintzmann, J., Kanari, K., Krvavac, M., Lettink, M., Lippert, J., Luiselli, L., Nilson, G., Nguyen, T.Q., Nijman, V., Parham, J.F., Pasachnik, S.A., Pedrono, M., Rauhaus, A., Rueda Córdova, D., Sanchez, M.E., Schepp, U., van Schingen, M., Schneeweiss, N., Segniagbeto, G.H., Somaweera, R., Sy, E.Y., Türkozan, O., Vinke, S., Vinke, T., Vyas, R., Williamson, S. & Ziegler, T. (2016) Trade in live reptiles, its impact on wild populations, and the role of the European market. Biological Conservation, 204, 103–119.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.05.017

    Bandelt, H., Forster, P. & Röhl, A. (1999) Median-joining networks for inferring intraspecific phylogenies. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 16 (1), 37–48.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026036

    Barbour, T. (1914) A contribution to the zoögeography of the West Indies, with especial reference to amphibians and reptiles. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College, 44, 209–359.

    Barbour, T. (1930) A list of Antillean reptiles and amphibians. Zoologica, 11, 61–116.

    Barbour, T. (1935) A second list of Antillean reptiles and amphibians. Zoologica, 19, 77–141.

    Belkhir, K., Borsa, P., Chikhi, L., Raufaste, N. & Bonhomme, F. (1996) GENETIX 4.05, logiciel sous Windows TM pour la génétique des populations. Laboratoire Génome, Populations, Interactions. Institut des sciences de l’évolution. CNRS UMR 5171, Université de Montpellier II, Montpellier, France. Available from: https://kimura.univ-montp2.fr/genetix/ (Accessed 17 May 2019)

    Bickford, D., Lohman, D.J., Sodhi, N.S., Ng, P.K.L., Meier, R., Winker, K., Ingram, K. & Das, I. (2007) Cryptic species as a new window on diversity and conservation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 22, 148–155.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2006.11.004

    Boulenger, G.A. (1885) Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2. 2nd Edition. Trustees, London, xiii + 492 pp., XXXII pls.

    Bouysse, P. & Garrabé, F. (1984) Neogene tectonic Evolution of the Limestone Caribbees in the Guadeloupe Archipelago. Comptes Rendus Académie des Sciences Paris, Série I, 298 (17), 763–766.

    Breen, H.H. (1844) St. Lucia: Historical, Statistical and Descriptive. Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, London, xvi + 423 pp.

    Breuil, M. (1999) Editorial. West Indian Iguana Special Group Newsletter, 2, 4.

    Breuil, M. (2002) Histoire naturelle des Amphibiens et Reptiles terrestres de l’Archipel Guadeloupéen: Guadeloupe et dépendances, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy. Patrimoines naturels IEGB, SPN MNHN, 54, 1–339.

    Breuil, M. (2003) In the footsteps of French Naturalists, a “Battle” of Iguanas and “Improvements” in Biodiversity. In: Henderson, R.W. & Powell, R. (Eds.), Islands and the Sea: Essays on Herpetological Exploration in the West Indies. Contributions to Herpetology. Vol. 20. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Ithaca, New York, pp. 255–270.

    Breuil, M. (2009) The terrestrial herpetofauna of Martinique: Past, present, future. Applied Herpetology, 6, 123–149.

    https://doi.org/10.1163/157075408x386114

    Breuil, M. (2011) The terrestrial herpetofauna of Martinique: Past, present, future. In: Hailey A., Wilson, B.S. & Horrocks, J.A. (Eds.), Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas. Vol. 2. Regional Accounts of the West Indies. Brill, Leiden, pp. 311–338.

    Breuil, M. (2013) Caractérisation morphologique de l’iguane commun Iguana iguana (Linnaeus, 1758), de l’iguane des Petites Antilles Iguana delicatissima Laurenti, 1768 et de leurs hybrides. Bulletin Société Herpétologique de France, 147, 309–346.

    Breuil, M. (2016) Morphological characterization of the common iguana Iguana iguana (Linnaeus, 1758), of the Lesser Antillean iguana Iguana delicatissima Laurenti, 1768 and of their hybrids. Same paper as Breuil 2013, translated into English, by the International Reptile Conservation Foundation (IRCF) pp. 1-37, International Reptile Conservation Foundation, Tucson, Arizona. Available from: https://ircf.org (Accessed 17 May 2019)

    Breuil, M., Guiougou, F., Questel, K. & Ibéné, B. [2010 (2009)] Modifications du peuplement herpétologique dans les Antilles françaises: Disparitions et espèces allochtones. 2e partie: Reptiles. Le Courrier de la Nature, 251, 36–43.

    Buckley, L.J., De Queiroz, K., Grant, T.D., Hollingsworth, B.D., Iverson, J.B., Pasachnick, S.A. & Stephen, C.L. (2016) A checklist of the iguanas of the World. In: Iverson J.B., Knapp C.R. & Pasachnick S.A. (Eds.), Iguanas: Biology, Systematics, and Conservation. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 11, pp. 4–46. [Monograph 6]

    Censky, E.J., Hodge, K. & Dudley, J. (1998) Overwater dispersal of lizards due to hurricanes. Nature, 395, 556.

    https://doi.org/10.1038/26886

    Daltry, J.C. (2009) The Status and Management of Saint Lucia’s Forest Reptiles and Amphibians. Technical Report No. 2 to the National Forest Demarcation and Bio-Physical Resource Inventory Project, Finnish Consulting Group International Ltd, Helsinki. Finland, 1-129.

    Daltry, J.C., Langelet, E., Solmu, G.C., van der Ploeg, J., van Weerd, M. & Whitaker, R. (2016a) Successes and failures of crocodile harvesting strategies in the Asia Pacific. In: Aguirre, A.A. & Sukumar, R. (Eds.), Tropical Conservation. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 345–362.

    Daltry, J.C., Adams, R., Gaymes, G., Providence, F. & Sweeney, R. (2016b) Union Island Gecko: Conservation Action Plan, 2016–2021. Report to the Saint Vincent & the Grenadines Forestry Department. pp. 1–59. Fauna & Flora International, Union Island Environmental Attackers and Virginia Zoo.

    Darriba, D., Taboada, G.L., Doallo, R. & Posada, D. (2012) JModelTest 2: more models, new heuristics and parallel computing. Nature Methods, 9 (8), 772.

    https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2109

    Daudin, J. & de Silva, M. (2011) An annotated checklist of the amphibians and terrestrial reptiles of the Grenadines with notes on their local natural history and conservation. In: Hailey, A., Wilson, B.S. & Horrocks, J.A. (Eds.), Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas. Vol. 2 Regional Accounts of the West Indies: Conservation Biology and the Wider Caribbean. Brill, Leiden, pp. 259–271. [Reprinted from Applied Herpetology, 4, pp. 163–175. (2007)]

    https://doi.org/10.1163/157075407780681329

    Des Vœux, G.W. (1903) My Colonial Service in British Guiana, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Fiji, Australia, Newfoundland, and Hong Kong with Interludes. Vol. 1. John Murray, London, 460 pp.

    Drummond, A.J. & Rambaut, A. (2007) BEAST: Bayesian evolutionary analysis by sampling trees. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 7, 214.

    https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-7-214

    Duméril, A.-M.-C. & Bibron, G. (1837) Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. T. IV. Lib. encycl. Roret, Paris, 572 pp.

    Duméril, A.-M.-C. & Duméril, A.H.A. (1851) Catalogue Méthodique de la Collection des Reptiles du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. Gide et Baudry, Paris, 224 pp.

    Dunn, E.R. (1934) Notes on Iguana. Copeia, 1934, 1–4.

    https://doi.org/10.2307/1436422

    Earl, D.A. & VonHoldt, B.M. (2011) STRUCTURE HARVESTER: a website and program for visualizing STRUCTURE output and implementing the Evanno method. Conservation Genetic Resources, 4, 359–361.

    https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-011-9548-7

    Evanno, G., Regnaut, S. & Goudet, J. (2005) Detecting the number of clusters of individuals using the software structure: a simulation study. Molecular Ecology, 14, 2611–2620.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2005.02553.x

    Falcón, W., Ackerman, J.D. & Daehler, C.C. (2012) March of the green iguana: Non-native distribution and predicted geographic range of Iguana iguana in the Greater Caribbean Region. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians, 19 (3), 150–160.

    https://doi.org/10.2984/67.2.2

    Falcón, W., Ackerman, J.D., Recart, W. & Daehler, C.C. (2013) Biology and impacts of Pacific island invasive species: Iguana iguana, the green iguana (Squamata: Iguanidae). Pacific Sciences, 67 (2), 157–186.

    https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02101694

    Garmann, S. (1887) On the West Indian reptiles. Iguanidae. Bulletin of the Essex Institute, 19, 17–24.

    Germa, A., (2008) Évolution volcano-tectonique de l’île de la Martinique (Arc insulaire des Petites Antilles): Nouvelles contraintes géochronologiques et géomorphologiques. Thèse de Doctorat (PhD), Université Paris, Paris, 360 pp. [version 1, 2010]

    Goudet, J. (2001) FSTAT, a program to estimate and test gene diversities and fixation indices. Version 2.9.3. Available from: http://www2.unil.ch/popgen/softwares/fstat.html (accessed August 2018)

    Hawlitschek, O., Nagy, Z.T. & Glaw, F. (2012) Island evolution and systematic revision of Comoran snakes: why and when subspecies still make sense. PLoS ONE, 7 (8), e42970.

    https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042970

    Hedges, S.B. (2018) Caribherp: West Indian amphibians and reptiles. Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Available from: http://www.caribherp.org (accessed 15 April 2019)

    Hedges, S.B., Marin, J., Suleski, M., Paymer, M. & Kumar, S. (2015) Tree of Life reveals clock-like speciation and diversification. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 32, 835–845.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msv037

    Henderson, R.W. & Breuil, M. (2012) Island lists of West Indian amphibians and reptiles: Lesser Antilles. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History, 51 (2), 148–159.

    Henderson, R.W. & Powell, R. (2018) Amphibians and Reptiles of the St. Vincent and Grenada Banks, West Indies. Edition Chimaera, Frankfurt, 448 pp.

    Hodge, K.V.D., Powell, R. & Censky, E.J. (2011) Conserving the herpetofauna of Anguilla. In: Hailey, A., Wilson, B.S. & Horrocks, J.A. (Eds.), Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas. Vol. 2. Regional Accounts of the West Indies: Conservation Biology and the Wider Caribbean. Brill, Leiden, pp. 2–13.

    https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004194083.i-439.5

    Katoh, K., Kuma, K., Toh, H. & Miyata, T. (2005) MAFFT version 5: improvement inaccuracy of multiple sequence alignment. Nucleic Acids Research, 33 (2), 511–518.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gki198

    Kraus, F. (2009) Alien Reptiles and Amphibians: a Scientific Compendium and Analysis. Invading Nature: Springer Series In Invasion Ecology, 4, i–x, 1–563.

    Krauss, U. (2013) Invasive alien species management in St. Lucia and Caribbean partner countries. In: Vernier, J.-L. & Burac, M. (Eds.), Actes du Colloque Biodiversité Insulaire: la Flore, la Faune et l’Homme dans les Petites Antilles, Martinique, 2010, pp. 196–206.

    Krauss, U., Isidore, L., Mitchel, N. Seely, L., Alfred, P., Ramessar, A., Johnny, A., Joseph, B., James, M., Dornelly, A., Breuil, M., Vuillaume, B., Morton, M., John, L. & Bobb, M. (2014) An assessment of control methods for invasive alien iguanas in Saint Lucia. Workshop on Policies, Strategies and Best Practices for Managing Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in the Insular Caribbean, Port of Spain, Trinidad, 2014, 1–27.

    Laurenti, J.N. (1768) Specimen Medicum Exhibens Synopsis Reptilium. Joan Thom, Vienna, 215 pp., 5 pls ht.

    Laws of Grenada (1990) Birds and Other Wild Life (Protection of) (Amendment) Ordinance, 1964 (No. 26 of 1964). pp. 81–83. Revised Edition 1990. Government Printer, Government Printing Office, St. George’s, Grenada.

    Laws of Saint Lucia (2010) Wildlife Protection Act (No. 6.03). Revised Edition 2010. pp. 1–16. Government Printer, Government Printing Office, Castries, Saint Lucia.

    Laws of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (1990) Wildlife Protection Act, 1964 (No. 26 of 1964). Revised Edition 1990. pp. 1–20. Published by the Autority of the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

    Lazell, J.D. (1973) The lizard genus Iguana in the Lesser Antilles. Bulletin Museum Comparative Zoology, 145, 1–28.

    Leigh, J.W. & Bryant, D. (2015) PopART: Full-feature software for haplotype network construction. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 6 (9), 1110–1116.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210x.12410

    Leighton, R.M.G., Hugo, P.S., Roulin, A. & Amar, A. (2016) Just Google it: assessing the use of Google Images to describe geographical variation in visible traits of organisms. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 1060–1070.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12562

    Levacher, M.G. (1834) Guide Médical des Antilles, ou Études sur les Maladies des Colonies en Général et Sur Celles Qui Sont Propres à la Race Noire. J.B. Baillières, Paris, 251 pp.

    Linnaeus, C. (1758) Systema Naturae per Regna tria Naturae, secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymus, locis. Tom. 1. Editio decimata reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae, 4 + 824 pp.

    Lopez-Torres, A.L., Claudio-Hernandez, H.J., Rodrıguez-Gomez, C.A., Longo, A.V. & Joglar, R.L. (2012) Green iguanas (Iguana iguana) in Puerto Rico: is it time for management? Biological Invasions, 14, 35–45

    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-011-0057-0

    Malone, C.L. & Davis, S.K. (2004) Genetic contributions to Caribbean iguana conservation. In: Alberts, A.C., Carter, R.L., Hayes, W.K. & Martins, E.P. (Eds.), Iguanas: Biology and Conservation. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 45–57.

    https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520238541.003.0004

    Malone, C.L., Wheeler, T., Taylor, J.F. & Davis, S.K. (2000) Phylogeography of the Caribbean rock iguana (Cyclura): Implications for conservation and insights on the biogeographic history of the West Indies. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 17, 269–279.

    https://doi.org/10.1006/mpev.2000.0836

    Martin, J.L., Knapp, C.R., Gerber, G.P., Thorpe, R.S. & Welsh, M. (2015) Phylogeography of the Endangered Lesser Antillean iguana, Iguana delicatissma: A recent diaspora in an archipelago known for ancient herpetological endemism. Journal of Heredity, 2015, 315–321.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esv004

    Massemin, D., Fouquet, A. & Breuil, M. (2012) Les amphibiens et reptiles du littoral guyanais: un peuplement particulier et méconnu. In: Guiral, D. & Le Guen, R. (Eds.), Guyane Océane. IRD-Roger Leguen éditions, Marseille, pp. 294–320.

    McKeon, S. (1996) A Fieldguide to Reptiles and Amphibians in the Hawaiian Islands. Diamond Head Publishing, Inc., Los Osos, California, 173 pp.

    Morton, M.N. & Krauss, U. (2011) Native and alien iguanas on Saint Lucia, West Indies. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians, 18 (1), 19–25.

    Morton, M.N., Anthony, D., Besné Garcia, G.G., Corry, E., Dornelly, A., Dröge, E.D., Harley, S., Jean Baptiste, T., Johnny, A., Kelly, A., McGowan, D., McPharlin, M., Mitchel, N., O’Kelly, H., Ogrodowczyk, A., Perrett, E.S., Takács, R. & Graham, K.S. (2007) St. Lucia Iguana Project Report 2002-06. Unpublished report to Saint Lucia Forestry Department and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Saint Lucia Forestry Department, Castries, Saint Lucia and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands.

    Moss, J.B., Welch, M.E., Burton, F.J., Vallee, M.V., Houlcroft, E.W., Laaser, T. & Gerber, G.P. (2017) First evidence for crossbreeding between invasive Iguana iguana and the native rock iguana (Genus Cyclura) on Little Cayman Island. Biological Invasions, 20 (4), 817–823.

    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1602-2

    Nellis, D.W. & Everard, C.O.R. (1983) The biology of the mongoose in the Caribbean Studies on the Fauna of Curaçao and other Caribbean Islands, 1, 1–162.

    Noseworthy, J. (2017) Cold-blooded conflict: tackling the illegal trade in endemic Caribbean island reptiles. MPhil thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, pp. 1–106.

    Nylander, J.A.A., Wilgenbusch, J.C., Warren, D.L. & Swofford, D.L. (2008) AWTY (are we there yet?): a system for graphical exploration of MCMC convergence in Bayesian phylogenetics. Bioinformatics, 24 (4), 581–583.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btm388

    Pasachnik, S.A., Breuil, M. & Powell, R. (2006) Iguana delicatissima. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles, 811, 1–14.

    Pasachnik, S.A., De León, R.C., Reynoso, V.H., Rupp, E., León, Y.M. & Incháustegui, S.J. (2012) Green Iguanas in the Dominican Republic. IRCF Reptiles and Amphibians, 19 (2), 132–134.

    Pritchard, J.K., Stephens, M. & Donnelly, P. (2000) Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data. Genetics, 155, 945–959.

    Provancher, L. (1890) Une excursion aux climats tropicaux. Voyage aux îles du Vent : St-Kitts, Névis, Antigue, Montserrat, La Dominique, La Guadeloupe, Ste-Lucie, La Barbade, Trinidad. J.A. Langlais, Québec, 353 pp.

    Rand, A.S. & Greene, H.W. (1982) Latitude and climate phenology of reproduction in the green iguana, Iguana iguana. In: Burghardt, G.M. & Rand, A.S. (Eds.), Iguanas of The World: Their Behavior, Ecology and Conservation. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, New Jersey, pp. 142–149.

    Rice, W.R. (1989) Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution, 43, 223–225.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1989.tb04220.x

    Robbins, A.M.J., Eckelmann, C.-M. & Quinones, M. (2008) Forest fires in the insular Caribbean. Ambio, 37 (7/8), 528–534.

    https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447-37.7.528

    Ronquist, F., Teslenko, M., van der Mark, P., Ayres, D.L., Darling, A., Höhna, S., Larget, B., Liu, L., Suchard, M.A. & Huelsenbeck, J.P. (2012) MrBayes 3.2: efficient Bayesian phylogenetic inference and model choice across a large model space. Systematic Biology, 61 (3), 539–542.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys029

    Rosenberg, N.A. (2004) DISTRUCT: a program for the graphical display of population structure. Molecular Ecology Notes, 4, 137–138.

    https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-8286.2003.00566.x

    Saint Lucia Forests and Lands Resources Department (2015) Strategy 2015–2025. Saint Lucia Forests and Lands Resources Department, Union, Saint Lucia. Available from: http://moa.malff.com/ (accessed 15 April 2019)

    Stephen, C.L., Reynoso, V.H., Collett, W.S., Hasbun, C.R. & Breinholt, J.W. (2013) Geographical structure and cryptic lineages within common green iguanas, Iguana iguana. Journal of Biogeography, 40 (1), 1–13.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2012.02780.x

    Tamura, K., Stecher, G., Peterson, D., Filipski, A. & Kumar, S. (2013) MEGA6: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version 6.0. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 30, 2725–2729.

    https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/mst197

    Torstrom, S.M., Pangle, K.L. & Swanson, B.J. (2014) Shedding subspecies: The influence of genetics on reptile subspecies taxonomy. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 76, 134–143.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2014.03.011

    Treglia, M.L. (2006) An annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of St. Vincent, West Indies. Iguana, 13, 251–262.

    Underwood, G. (1962) Reptiles of the Eastern Caribbean. Caribbean Affairs, New Series, 1, 1–192.

    Valette, V., Filipova L., Vuillaume, B., Cherbonnel, C., Risterucci, A.M., Delaunay, C., Breuil, M. & Grandjean, F. (2012) Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from Iguana delicatissima (Reptilia: Iguanidae), new perspectives for investigation of hybridization events with Iguana iguana. Conservation Genetic Resources, 5 (1), 173–175.

    https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-012-9761-z

    van den Burg, M., Breuil, M. & Knapp, C. (2018) Iguana delicatissima. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2018, e.T10800A122936983.

    https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T10800A122936983.en

    Vuillaume, B. (2012) Origine, différenciation et hybridation entre deux espèces d’iguane (Iguana delicatissima et Iguana iguana) dans les Petites Antilles. Master II ingénieur, Institut Supérieur Agronomique, Dijon, 51 pp.

    Vuillaume, B., Valette, V., Lepais, O., Grandjean, F. & Breuil, M. (2015) Genetic evidence of hybridization between the Endangered native species Iguana delicatissima and the invasive Iguana iguana (Reptilia, Iguanidae) in the Lesser Antilles: Management implications. PLoS ONE, 10 (6), e0127575.

    https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127575

    Weir, B.S. & Cockerham, C.C. (1984) Estimating F-statistics for the analysis of population structure. Evolution, 38, 1358–1370.

    https://doi.org/10.2307/2408641

    Wiegmann, A.F.A. (1834) Herpetologica Mexicana, seu Descriptio Amphibiorum Nova Hispaniae. Vol. 1. Sumptibus C.G. Lüderitz, Berolini, vi + 54 pp.