Cyclura nubila, also known as the Cuban iguana, is a species of
lizard of the
iguana family. It is the largest of the West Indian
rock iguanas, one of the most
endangered groups of lizards. This
herbivorous species with red eyes, a thick tail, and spiked jowls is one of the largest lizards in the
Caribbean. The Cuban iguana is distributed throughout the
rocky southern coastal areas of mainland Cuba and its surrounding islets with a feral population thriving on Isla Magueyes,
Puerto Rico. It is also found on the
Cayman Islands of
Little Cayman and
Cayman Brac, where a separate
subspecies occurs. Females guard their nest sites and often nest in sites excavated by
Cuban crocodiles. As a defense measure, the Cuban iguana often makes its home within or near prickly-pear cacti. Although the wild population is in decline because of
predation by feral animals and habitat loss caused by human agricultural development, its numbers have been bolstered as a result of captive-breeding and other conservation programs. Cyclura nubila has been used to study evolution and
animal communication, and its captive-breeding program has been a model for other endangered lizards in the Caribbean. (
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... that Gerald "Charley" Westbury was one of the first cancer surgeons to develop procedures that would preserve function as well as give good survival rates?
... that the 10th Battalion was the first South Australian infantry unit to leave Australia during World War I, heading for the Middle East in October 1914?
Charles Bolden (b. 1946) is the current
Administrator of
NASA. After graduating from the
United States Naval Academy in 1968, Bolden became a pilot for the
Marine Corps, seeing combat during the
Vietnam War. He spent time as a
test pilot during the 1970s before
being selected in 1980 for the astronaut program. During his time as an astronaut he spent more than 28 days in space, taking part in four missions. After leaving NASA, he returned to the military and reached the rank of
Major General before retiring in 2004. He was selected by American president
Barack Obama to head NASA in 2009, becoming the first
African American to head the agency on a permanent basis.
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