Lapitiguana

Lapitiguana impensa is an extinct giant (1.5 m long) iguanid from Fiji.[1] It probably became extinct following the human colonization of Fiji 3000 years ago.[1]

Lapitiguana
Temporal range: Holocene
Comparison of Natunaornis and Lapitiguana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Iguanidae
Genus: Lapitiguana
Species:
L. impensa
Binomial name
Lapitiguana impensa
Pregill & Worthy, 2003

All extant Fijian iguanas are in the genus Brachylophus, together with an extinct species from Tonga. The closest living relatives of the Polynesian iguanas are found in the Americas,[2][3] posing a biogeographical puzzle.

See also

References

  1. Pregill, G. K.; Worthy, T. H. (March 2003). "A New Iguanid Lizard (Squamata, Iguanidae) from the Late Quaternary of Fiji, Southwest Pacific". Herpetologica. The Herpetologists' League. 59 (1): 57–67. doi:10.1655/0018-0831(2003)059[0057:ANILSI]2.0.CO;2.
  2. Keogh, J. Scott; Edwards, Danielle L.; Fisher, Robert N.; Harlow, Peter S. (2008-10-27). "Molecular and morphological analysis of the critically endangered Fijian iguanas reveals cryptic diversity and a complex biogeographic history". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Royal Society. 363 (1508): 3413–3426. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0120. PMC 2607380. PMID 18782726.
  3. Noonan, B.P.; Sites, J.W. Jr. (2009-11-24). "Tracing the origins of iguanid lizards and boine snakes of the Pacific". The American Naturalist. University of Chicago Press. 175 (1): 61–72. doi:10.1086/648607. PMID 19929634. S2CID 5882832.


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