Endangered
Fiji Banded Iguana
Brachylophus fasciatus
Fiji Banded Iguana, the Lau banded iguana, is an arboreal species of lizard endemic to the Lau Islands of the eastern part of the Fijian archipelago.
Appearance
Sexually dimorphic, males have two or three white or pale-blue bands 2 centimetres (0.79 in) wide crossing their emerald green background with a pattern of spots and stripes on the nuchal region. Females, on the other hand, are solid green with occasional spotting or partial bands. Both sexes have a yellow underside.
Fiji banded iguanas reach 60 centimetres (24 in) in length when measured from snout to tail tip and bodyweights of up to 200 grams (0.44 lb).
Range and habitat
The Lau banded iguana is endemic to the Lau Islands of Fiji. Its recent range is known to extend from Vanua Balavu in the north to Fulaga and Ogea in the south, among them at least eleven islands. It was introduced to the Tonga Islands 300 years ago, probably after the native Brachylophus gibbonsi was driven to extinction.
Fiji Banded Iguana, the Lau banded iguana, is an arboreal species of lizard endemic to the Lau Islands of the eastern part of the Fijian archipelago. Populations of these iguanas have been declining over the past century due to habitat destruction, and more significantly, the introduction of mongoose and house cats to the islands.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet and breeding
The species is diurnal, spending their days foraging, basking and watching over their territories by day and retreating to the treetops at night. Fiji banded iguanas are herbivorous. They feed on the leaves, fruit, and flowers of trees and shrubs, particularly hibiscus flowers of the Vau tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus) and fruit such as banana and papaya.
Courtship is similar to other iguanids, with males approaching and tongue flicking the female's back, forelimbs and nuchal regions after a series of rapid head bobs. The breeding season occurs during the month of November. Females guard the nest of three to six eggs, that is unusual for iguanids.
In crisis
It is also found in Tonga, where it was probably introduced by humans. The biggest threats this iguana faces is habitat loss due to fires, storms, agricultural development, and competition from feral goats. A secondary threat is introduced predators in the forms of rats, mongoose, and cats that prey on the iguanas and their eggs.
Fiji Banded Iguana is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Fiji Banded Iguana, Wikidata item Q978690. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
