Mo Ganji: Utila Spiny-tailed Iguana | Utila-Stachelschwanzleguan | Ctenosaura bakeri | No. 230/250 from work group 8/99

Mo Ganji turns toward the Utila spiny-tailed iguana — a medium-sized reptile uniquely adapted to mangrove ecosystems — by letting the single line move toward essence rather than specialization or rarity. The line condenses the being into a reduced coherence, setting aside habitat specificity, texture and posture so that presence can surface without description. In Ganji’s understanding, the line is not bound to the iguana alone; it remains open, reminding us that every form is also a human concept temporarily assigned to a living continuum.

Ctenosaura bakeri is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Endemic to the island of Utila off the coast of Honduras, the species has one of the most restricted distributions of any iguana. Its entire global population depends on a shrinking belt of mangrove forest, a habitat increasingly under pressure.

The principal threats include mangrove destruction for coastal development, tourism infrastructure, pollution, and past exploitation for food. Because the Utila spiny-tailed iguana relies almost exclusively on mangrove environments for feeding and nesting, habitat loss has immediate and severe consequences. Conservation efforts focus on habitat protection, restoration and community engagement.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the iguana can be encountered beyond adaptation or isolation. It allows the being to be perceived as a life bound to the thin interface between land and sea, suggesting how survival can hinge on environments that are often dismissed as expendable, yet hold entire forms of existence together.