Found: the pink iguana

[depakid]

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2009/01/06/pinkiguana2_wideweb__470x311,0.jpg
A pink iguana, which was recently confirmed as a new species by a team of Italian and Ecuadorean scientists, at Isabela Island, in the Galapagos Islands.
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A team of Ecuadoran and Italian researchers has discovered a unique species of pink land iguanas living on the Galapagos Islands.

"It is surprising to have made a find of this magnitude in the 21st century," said Washington Tapia, head of research at the Galapagos National Park. Researchers at first thought that the iguanas, which are pink with black spots, simply had skin pigmentation problems, Tapia said.

The first pink iguanas were discovered in 1986 and, after years of research, scientists concluded that it was a unique species.

"We have not yet determined the size of the population, but we estimate that it is small because we have only captured 36 pink iguanas for research up to now," Tapia said. The pink species can be up to 1.8 metres long as measured from tip to tail, and, unlike the other land iguanas, does not have a row of spines running up its back.

More: http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/conservation/found-the-pink-iguana/2009/01/06/1231003993594.html

[lob1]

1. Oops, sorry. I saw the headline and thought it was a sex thread.

[Jamastiene]

2. I kind of wish they hadn't announced the discovery.

Don't get me wrong. The picture is great and the discovery is great, but the animal/pet trade is not so great. I wonder how long before they will be exploited on the pet market. I wish I didn't know the human species so well sometimes.

Worries aside, what a beauty!

[aquart]

3. Exactly what the lady iguanas must have been thinking.

Wish I could have seen the day one of them decided a pink guy was sexier than the other kind.