Genetic analysis of the pink iguana has revealed it to be one of the earliest examples of species diversification on the islands of the Galapagos.
Galapagos land iguanas belong to the genus Conolophus, of which there are currently three recognised species. Given their colour, pink iguanas were apparently missed until they were noticed by park rangers in 1986.
Gabriele Gentile of Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy, and colleagues took blood samples of the pink iguanas and the other two species in order to test their relatedness.
Genetic analysis shows that the pink iguana originated in the Galapagos more than five million years ago, and diverged from the other land iguana populations even as the archipelago was still forming.
The species came into being even before the appearance of the Volcán Wolf volcano in the north of Isabela Island – the only place the pink iguana is now found.
The pink form, says Gentile, should be considered a third species, and is evolutionarily older than the other two species.
