QUITO, Ecuador — Hard to believe a giant, pink lizard could be overlooked for almost two centuries. Charles Darwin missed it during his 1835 study of the Galapagos Islands that led to his theory of evolution. Park rangers ignored the pink and black-striped reptiles after happening upon them in 1986. Some thought the stripes were just stains.
But scientists now have documented a new species, the iguana “rosada,” (pink in Spanish), which may be one of the archipelago’s oldest, according to research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The 36 pink iguanas — which average 3-5 feet in length — belong to a previously undiscovered species that appears to live exclusively around Isabela Island’s Wolf Volcano, an area Darwin never explored. The pink iguana population’s size, eating and reproductive habits are still unknown, and no young animals have been discovered, according to a park statement. The Associated Press
