Galapagos Islands: Volcano eruption threatens world's only population of pink iguanas

A volcano has erupted on Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, threatening the world's only population of critically endangered pink iguanas that reside on the island.

The 1.7km high Wolf volcano, located atop Isabela Island, erupted around 1:30am local time on Monday 25 May, according to the Galapagos National Park administration.

While no residential areas have been affected by the eruption, there are fears that lava could threaten the Conolophus marthae, or the Galapagos pink land iguana, that is native only to the island.

"The Wolf volcano is not located near a populated area. There is not risk for the human population. This is the only population of pink iguanas in the world," the Galapagos National Park said on Twitter.

The Galapagos pink land iguana is categorised as 'critically endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning that the species is at very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Home to a rich variety of flora and fauna, the island's diverse ecosystem helped inspire Charles Darwin's Theory Of Evolution following his visit on HMS Beagle in 1835.

Wolf had been inactive for 33 years, according to the park. The volcano's eruption comes after recent eruptions in Chile, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, all located along Latin America's so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire'.