Black spiny-tailed iguana , the  Ctenosaura similis  known to be the fastest-running lizards of Mexico,  have distinctive black, keeled scales on their long tails which gives them their common name.  The males are capable of growing up to 1.3 meters (4 ft 3 in) in length and the females are slightly shorter, at 0.8–1 meter (2 ft 7 in–3 ft 3 in). They have a crest of long spines which extends down the center of the back.  Although coloration varies extremely among individuals of the same population, adults usually have a whitish gray or tan ground color with a series of 4–12 well-defined dark dorsal bands that extend nearly to the ventral scales.

Tulum is the site of a Pre-columbian walled city  which was at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries. It served as a major port  on the Caribbean sea particularly for its trade of obsidian. Tulum  was one of the last cities  built by and inhabited by the Maya. Tulum may also have been called  Zama , meaning City of Dawn, because it faces the sunrise.

Tulum continued to survive upto 70 years after the Spanish occupation of Mexico. It is believed that the diseases brought by Spaniards resulted in very high fatalities, devastating Mayan society, and eventually causing the city to be abandoned.