Critically Endangered
Galápagos Pink Land Iguana
Conolophus marthae
Galápagos Pink Land Iguana is a lizard or snake in the family Iguanidae — Conolophus marthae, recorded as Critically Endangered.
The lizard or snake
When first described, it was suggested that it should be considered a critically endangered species due to its tiny range and population, and this recommendation was followed when the IUCN reviewed its status in 2012.
Range and habitat
Individuals of the species Galápagos Pink Land Iguana first came into the public light in 1986 when park rangers spotted some pink lizards on the Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island, but a more thorough study by scientists only began in 2000. This volcano encompasses the entire distribution of the species and the range covers only 25 km2 (10 mi2), at altitudes between 600 and 1,700 m (2,000–5,600 ft). This critically endangered iguana is native only to the Wolf Volcano in northern Isabela Island of the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador).
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
In crisis
Fewer than 200 mature individuals of Galápagos Pink Land Iguana remain. The Galápagos pink land iguana is threatened by introduced feral cats and black rats, that can take eggs and young. The only native predator of the species is the Galápagos hawk.
Other threats are possible hybridization with Galápagos land iguanas (unknown at present, but has occurred based on genetic evidence), as the ranges of the two species come into contact, and chance events such as eruptions of Wolf Volcano, that has happened as recently as 2022. It has been proposed that a captive breeding program should be established for the Galápagos pink land iguana, similar to the successful program already established for some populations of the Galápagos land iguana.
Galápagos Pink Land Iguana is Critically 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 Galápagos Pink Land Iguana, Wikidata item Q2187681. 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.
