Microlophus indefatigabilis
—
Santa Cruz Lava Lizard
This species was formerly considered part of Microlophus albemarlensis, which is now restricted to Isabela island and its islets.
We first encountered M. indefatigabilis on the small island of South Plaza, off the coast of Santa Cruz, where they competed for our attention with many large iguanas.
Here's a very robust adult male and a particularly colorful female from North Seymour. The female is doing the classic lizard trick of keeping her toes up in the air to avoid overheating.
We were on Baltra just long enough to get from the dock to a bus to the airport, but that was long enough to see my last Galápagos lava lizard.
Online references:
- Microlophus indefatigabilis account on The Reptile Database
- Microlophus indefatigabilis account on Tropical Herping
- Edgar Benavides, Rebecca Baum, Heidi M. Snell, Howard L. Snell, Jack W. Sites, Jr., 2009. Island Biogeography of Galápagos Lava Lizards (Tropiduridae: Microlophus): Species Diversity and Colonization of the Archipelago