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A black-and-white banded Motagua spiny-tailed iguana resting on a log.
Photo: Hyalinobatrachium, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Motagua Spiny-Tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura palearis

An endangered iguana found only in Guatemala's dry Motagua Valley, which blocks its hiding hole with its spiny tail.

🦎 Lizards
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About the Motagua Spiny-Tailed Iguana

Motagua spiny-tailed iguanas live only in dry forest and thorn scrub of the Motagua Valley in southeastern Guatemala. They have slender bodies with tan, brown and black bands, and males have a big flap of skin under the chin called a dewlap. They hide in hollow cactus and tree trunks and block the entrance with their spiny tails.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Ctenosaura palearis[1]
Diet
Mainly plants, especially cactus fruit; sometimes insects.[1]
Habitat
Dry forest and thorn scrub up to almost 3,000 feet.[1]
Where it lives
Only the Motagua Valley of southeastern Guatemala.[1]
Group life
Active by day. Spends time both on the ground and in trees.[1]
Babies
Eggs hatch about 90 days after laying. No parental care.[1]
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2018).[2]

Fun facts

  • It plugs its hideout with its spiny tail.[1]
  • It helps spread the seeds of the organ-pipe cactus.[1]
  • It shares its valley with the Guatemalan beaded lizard.[1]

Vocabulary

dewlap
A flap of skin under the chin.
keystone species
A species that many other living things in its ecosystem depend on.
semi-arboreal
Spending part of the time in trees.
thorn scrub
Dry land covered with spiny bushes and cactus.
endangered
A conservation label meaning a species faces a very high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Motagua spiny-tailed iguana.” https://www.sfzoo.org/honduran-spiny-tailed-iguana/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Ctenosaura palearis (Motagua Spiny-tailed Iguana).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/44192/129419077 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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