Taxonomy and Etymology
The generic name, Brachylophus, is derived from two Greek words: brachys (βραχῦς) meaning "short" and lophos (λοφος) meaning "crest" or "plume", denoting the short spiny crests along the back of this species. The specific name, vitiensis, is a Latin adjective derived from the Latin word for Fiji.
The species is closely related to the Fiji banded iguana and B. bulabula. The genus Brachylophus has been suggested to be the descendants of a more widespread lineage of (now extinct) Old World iguanids that diverged from their New World relatives in the Paleogene. Alternatively, the ancestors of these iguanas may have rafted 9000 km west across the Pacific Ocean from the Americas, where their closest relatives are found.
The discovery of Brachylophus vitiensis began when Dr. John Gibbons of the University of the South Pacific was invited to the screening of the movie Blue Lagoon. The director filmed part of the movie on a remote island and included shots of the native wildlife to enhance the feel of the movie, including a large colorful iguanid. Gibbons, who had been studying the Fiji banded iguana at the time, travelled to the island and identified it as a distinct species.
Read more about this topic: Fiji Crested Iguana
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