Brachylophus bulabula

Taxobox
name = Fiji Iguana
status = EN
status_system =


image_width =
image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
ordo = Squamata
subordo = Iguania
familia = Iguanidae
genus = "Brachylophus"
species = "B. bulabula"
binomial = "Brachylophus bulabula"
binomial_authority = Scott Keogh (2008)

"Brachylophus bulabula" is a species of lizard endemic to the islands of Fiji and Tonga discovered in the central regions of Fiji by a team led by a scientist from the Australian National University in 2008. It is one of the few species of iguanas found outside of the New World and one of the most geographically isolated members of the family Iguanidae.cite journal|last=Kinkaid| first=John|title=Iguanas of the South Pacific |journal=Reptiles|year=1997 |volume=5 |issue=8|pages=54-57 |accessdate=07 October 2008 ] These iguanas are believed to have evolved from green iguanas that rafted on debris across 7,000 miles of Pacific Ocean from South America some 13 million years ago.cite journal|last=Cogger| first=Harold| authorlink= Harold Cogger |title=Voyage of the Banded Iguana |journal=Australia Natural History|year=1974 |volume=18 |issue=4|pages=144-149 |accessdate=07 October 2008 ]

Taxonomy and etymology

The generic name, "Brachylophus", is derived from two Greek words: brachys (βραχῦς) meaning "short" and lophos (λοφος) meaning "crest" or "plume", denoting the short spiny crests along the back of this species. The specific name, "bulabula", is a doubling of the Fiji word for "hello": "bula".

The species is closely related to the Fiji banded iguana and the Fiji crested iguana; all three species are believed to have evolved from iguanas that rafted to Fiji 13 million years ago from South America.Alberts, A.C.; Carter, R.L.; Hayes, W.K. & Martins, E.P. (eds.) (2004). "Iguanas - Biology and Conservation". University of California Press, 356 pp.] cite web |title=Hello hello: New iguana species found in Fiji |publisher=Associated Press |location=Fiji |year=2008|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/scienceenvironmentspeciesiguana |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=06 October 2008 ] This species was described after a mitochondrial DNA analysis of 61 iguanas from 13 islands showed that "B. bulabula" was genetically and physically different from the two other species.

References