Pink iguanas on Galapagos Islands

A team of Ecuadorean and Italian researchers have 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 21^st 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, the scientist 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", Mr.tapia said.The pink species is 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."It is a unique species", Mr.Tapia said. "But more research needed to better determine its unique characteristics".Made up 13 main islands, in 1978 UNESCO declared the islands Patrimony of the Humanity.

The Hindu, 7^th  January 2009