Brachylophus vitiensis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Iguanidae

[Photo] A Fiji Crested iguana, Brachylophus vitiensis, Melbourne zoo. Date: 27 October 2007. Author: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Benjamint444

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

Brachylophus vitiensis, also known as the Fiji Crested Iguana, is the rarer of two species of iguana native to the islands of Fiji, the other being Brachylophus fasciatus. Both species are thought to have evolved from an iguana species which rafted from South America. Brachylophus vitiensis was first discovered in 1979 by Dr. John Gibbons. It is distinguished from Brachylophus fasciatus by the presence of three narrow, white bands on males, rather than the broader bluish bands of the latter species. Brachylophus vitiensis is also distinguished by its larger size, the presence of a spiny "crest" on its back, and its ability to change color to black when aroused. One of the largest remaining populations of this species lives on Yaduataba Island, which lacks the goat populations that destroy iguana habitat on other islands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachylophus_vitiensis

The text in this page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article shown in above URL. It is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.