Two species of iguanas are present in Martinique. The Lesser Antillean iguana (Iguana delicatissima), nicknamed péyi, is an endemic species now listed as endangered by the red list of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature). It is threatened by the common or striped iguana (Iguana iguana), an invasive species imported from Latin America to the West Indies at the end of the 19th century and in full expansion in Martinique since its introduction by Father Robert Pinchon, a science teacher, in the 1960s. The color is not a criterion for distinguishing these very similar but genetically different species that have distinct morphological characteristics at the level of the head (presence/absence of a large white scale under the eardrum ) and tail (striped or not). The greatest threat to the péyi iguana is the proliferation of the striped iguana with which it is able to reproduce and give birth to fertile hybrids. This hybridization leads to a dilution of the iguana péyi genome. Added to this is the competition exerted by the striped iguana whose natural environment is very close to that of the péyi. Striped iguanas have notably proliferated throughout the city of Fort-de-France and neighboring towns (Schoelcher, Le Lamentin). Like rats, they feed in garbage cans, invite themselves everywhere and reproduce at breakneck speed so that they are regularly killed by authorized services to curb their proliferation. The péyi iguana, on the other hand, has only two preserved areas left: the far north of the island, around Mount Pelée, and Chancel islet.