This species has been known to exhibit phenotypic plasticity just like other iguanas. The biome that the rhinoceros iguanas live in are ones that receive very little rain with little trees and shrubs. In general, the iguanas are found most abundantly in (although not restricted to) scrub woodland, dry forests, which are characterized by xeric, rocky habitats of eroded limestone in coastal terraces and lowlands of the mainland, and several offshore islands and small cays in a variety of subtropical life zones and habitat types. Populations in Haiti are even more endangered due to deforestation, poaching for bushmeat, and human clearing practices. There are moderately dense populations in the southeastern region of Haiti and its offshore islands, including the brackish lake of Étang Saumâtre, as well as the Dominican hypersaline Lake Enriquillo and its lake island, Isla Cabritos. Ranging throughout Hispaniola (in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic), rhinoceros iguana populations are stable only on Isla Beata, and the extreme of the Barahona Peninsula, inside Jaragua National Park. This species, like other species of Cyclura, is sexually dimorphic males are larger than females, and have more prominent dorsal crests and "horns" in addition to large femoral pores on their thighs, which are used to release pheromones. Males possess an adipose pad in the form of a helmet on the occipital region of the head, and a large dewlap. These iguanas are characterized by the growth of bony prominent tubercles on their snouts which resemble horns. Like all reptiles, rhinoceros iguanas are cold-blooded, meaning they need external sources to heat themselves they move as the sun shifts in order to get an optimal internal temperature. Most adults weigh 4.56 to 9 kilograms (10.1 to 19.8 lb). Their color is a uniform gray to brown drab. A crest of pointed horned scales extends from the nape of their neck to the tip of their tail. The rhinoceros iguana, like other members of the genus Cyclura, is a large-bodied, heavy-headed lizard with strong legs and a vertically flattened tail. The Mona ground iguana ( Cyclura stejnegeri) was originally thought to be a subspecies (and still is by some taxonomists), as Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri. cornuta) found on Hispaniola, the other subspecies is the extinct Navassa Island iguana ( C. The species was first identified by Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre in 1789. The rhinoceros iguana's specific name, cornuta, is the feminine form of the Latin adjective cornutus, meaning "horned" and refers to the horned projections on the snouts of males of the species. The rhinoceros iguana is a species of lizard belonging to the genus Cyclura.
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