Steep slopes of the Sleeping Dragon
On a hot, sultry day in the Grand Comoro (Ngazidja) Island, there was a short but steep slope. Sultry, not only because the word sounds fancy, but because my clothes stuck to me, my nose burned under the sun and I wished I were bald. On this day we were headed to a location that we like to call, the ‘Sleeping Dragon’. For some background on the Grand Comoro, it is a volcanic island between the African continent and Madagascar, it is geographically part of the Comoros Archipelago and is the capital of the Republic of Comoros. The team on this day consisted of Naïda, a biology student from the Grand Comoro and a friend of hers; Olly, Kathleen and me.
As reptile enthusiasts, we were all very curious to see one specific, rare species that is special to the Grand Comoro. It is a sub-species of the Malagasy Collared Iguana (Oplurus cuvieri), called the Comoroan collared Iguana (Oplurus cuvieri comorensis). Among the Malagasy iguanas, it is the most widely distributed species and has somehow managed to reach this tiny island.
You see, I am from the old-world (in geographic terms) and this would be my first encounter with an Iguanid! Most iguanid lizards are in the new world, which is all the area west of Africa including the North and South America, Galapagos Islands etc. Iguanas on Madagascar and the Grand Comoro are biogeographic exceptions, just like many other in the Indian Ocean Islands. From a study published in 2009, we now know that these guys evolved around the Mid-Late Jurassic period (~174-145 million years ago) and for the sake of simplicity, let us say they are at least a 160 million years old. Essentially, they are at least 159.8 million years older than us and were definitely friends with the dinosaurs!
As reptile enthusiasts, we were all very curious to see one specific, rare species that is special to the Grand Comoro. It is a sub-species of the Malagasy Collared Iguana (Oplurus cuvieri), called the Comoroan collared Iguana (Oplurus cuvieri comorensis). Among the Malagasy iguanas, it is the most widely distributed species and has somehow managed to reach this tiny island.
You see, I am from the old-world (in geographic terms) and this would be my first encounter with an Iguanid! Most iguanid lizards are in the new world, which is all the area west of Africa including the North and South America, Galapagos Islands etc. Iguanas on Madagascar and the Grand Comoro are biogeographic exceptions, just like many other in the Indian Ocean Islands. From a study published in 2009, we now know that these guys evolved around the Mid-Late Jurassic period (~174-145 million years ago) and for the sake of simplicity, let us say they are at least a 160 million years old. Essentially, they are at least 159.8 million years older than us and were definitely friends with the dinosaurs!
Let me now bring you to the present day Comoroan collared Iguana, no crest on the back or no fancy beard but has spiny scales on its tail! We began our ascent; to be honest, they began their ascent. The climb was a challenge for me due to the heavy bag I had lugged on my back, while my teammates were well ahead of me. I cursed myself for having carried it along and about my general life choices resulting in the lack of required fitness. I know a lot of people rejoice field work, I do too. But this grumbling is at the very heart of my joy of each day spent in the field.
Naïda called out announcing that she had spotted something! I ran, crawled and walked as fast as I could, but I felt exhausted. After what seemed like half a minute, Olly called out to me that I need not rush because the lizard was just an introduced gecko (Hemidactylus sp.). I couldn’t have been happier because I could barely move another inch! I stood there, at the wake of a flat, narrow path ahead of me for a few meters, and the ocean beyond. This path was flanked by very interesting rock formations on both sides beyond which there were steep drops. The water reflected a deep blue colour against the shining sun, and those rocks could probably bake cakes. I stood there and looked around only to notice a head popping out of a rock on my right. I fear embarrassment, so I took a moment before calling out. But, I mean, I couldn’t even climb this little slope at their pace, so what could get worse?
Naïda called out announcing that she had spotted something! I ran, crawled and walked as fast as I could, but I felt exhausted. After what seemed like half a minute, Olly called out to me that I need not rush because the lizard was just an introduced gecko (Hemidactylus sp.). I couldn’t have been happier because I could barely move another inch! I stood there, at the wake of a flat, narrow path ahead of me for a few meters, and the ocean beyond. This path was flanked by very interesting rock formations on both sides beyond which there were steep drops. The water reflected a deep blue colour against the shining sun, and those rocks could probably bake cakes. I stood there and looked around only to notice a head popping out of a rock on my right. I fear embarrassment, so I took a moment before calling out. But, I mean, I couldn’t even climb this little slope at their pace, so what could get worse?
We passed minutes looking at that head in amazement and I gazed at it with a ‘thank-goodness’ attitude. Because I have had days when I thought I saw a jungle fowl in the canopy of a tree that turned out to be a Malabar giant squirrel; that is not exactly good spotting skills, even for an early bird herpetologist. The Comoroan collared Iguana was perched on the edge, and the only reason we saw her/him was because she/he was a curious one! More often than not, wildlife encounters take place because the animals are curious about our strangeness, and every so often, we are too.
Useful links:
Grand Comoro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Comore
General Iguanid information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguanidae
More on Malagasy Iguanids, called Opluridae: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opluridae
Malagasy Iguanids phylogeny: https://brill.com/view/journals/amre/29/3/article-p319_3.xml
Grand Comoro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Comore
General Iguanid information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguanidae
More on Malagasy Iguanids, called Opluridae: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opluridae
Malagasy Iguanids phylogeny: https://brill.com/view/journals/amre/29/3/article-p319_3.xml