Variation in the morphology of hatchlings of black iguanas Ctenosaura pectinata (Wiegmann, 1834) (Squamata: Iguanidae)

Resumen

To contribute to the management of Ctenosaura pectinata under confinement conditions, this study presents statistical analyses of nine morphological variables of 127 hatchlings, which were obtained from production farms. The variables examined and processed with one-way analysis of variance, multivariate variance analysis, discriminant analysis, and analysis of covariance reveal that snout-vent length (males= 52.53 mm, females= 49.23 mm), tail length (males= 13.59 mm, females= 12.30 mm), forelimb (males= 25.99 mm, females= 23.08 mm) and hindlimb leg length (males= 44.43 mm, females= 38.08 mm) are the larger characters in males than in females hatchlings, as occurs in adults. Sex morphologic differentiation of C. similis in an early stage of development is useful when working under farm conditions. To facilitate the recognition of the sex of the offspring, a dichotomous key with the most dimorphic characters is included.