Posted by:
colaris
at Thu Jan 21 16:23:25 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by colaris ]
Ha ha ok you beat me to it, and yes that is the most likely origin of the igs we all love as well as their home lands. I will spice up the mix with this. North and South America untill a very recent past, if Im not mistaken 6 million years ago, were separated from each other witch created a conection bettween the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. And this leads to a very interesting question about igs. What is the possible relation between Galapagos island iguanas and Carebian island iguanas? Without the barrier of Central America this 2 regions are VERY close to each other or at least within drift reach! From rock studies it is known that Galapagos islands are no more then like 10-12 mllions years of age, wich coincides with the age of the most acient lineage of land igs, to wich the recently discovered Conolophus martae belongs! Are Galapagos igs decendend of long exctinct Cyclura? Did they insted came from the main land and then got exctinct there? Cyclura and Conolophus look ALOT similar! Genetic studies that can figure this out are desperatly needed.
As for the blue in lewisi, it could easily been created by genetic drift alongside with species recognicion.
And yes we can only wander how many amazing igs evolved in the carebian islands only to be exctinct by natural causes and by pre columbian indians
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RE: Blue Cyclura Theory - colaris, Thu Jan 21 16:23:25 2010