Clement Kent

report, was the deep divergence of the rosada lineage at the base of the Conolophus clade. “The species alters the current thinking about the timing of diversification of land iguanas, which was previously supposed to have occurred in the Pleistocene era,” the researchers write. “In addition to the taxonomic implications, this form, which we recognise as a good species, is very important because it carries substantial evolutionary legacy, being basal to all other land iguana remnant populations.” Land iguanas have also suffered from hunting and the introduction by man of alien species, such as dogs, cats, rats, goats, donkeys, cattle and pigs, which has led to the loss of several indigenous species. All iguanas from the Galapagos are a source of conservation concern, Gentile says. Humans have strongly and severely impacted both marine and land iguanas. Tourism may be a fundamental source of benefits for the islands, he says, but some initiatives that are being planned, such as the construction of a jet airport on Isabella and a relaxed fishing policy, could accelerate the decline of the archipelago. “Available data indicate that the population size of the pink iguana is very small,” says Gentile. An urgent conservation program is needed, he argues. This newly recognised species based on currently available data would be assigned to the ‘critically endangered’ category of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Overlooked: Researchers have identified a new ‘pink’ species of land iguana in the Galapagos. (Photo: Gabriele Gentile.) Clement Kent