Marine Iguanas

The Marine Iguana

The Marine Iguana, also known as a Amblyrhynchus Cristatus, is a one of a kind Iguana that is only found in the Galapagos Islands. It has the ability to live and survive in the ocean.

The Iguana can dive about 30 feet in the water. The Iguanas can only be underwater for a certain amount of time, around 30 minutes.

Their diet contains algae, and sometimes will eat grasshoppers and crustaceans. They only feed about once a day.

They grow to a maximum of around 4 feet. Their total population is said to be around 300,000, and they are vulnerable to extinction.

They have a wide range of predators – snakes, owls, hawks, crabs, cats and dogs.

When the marine Iguanas are out of the sea, they rest on black volcanic rocks to keep warm as seen in the picture. Before they go out into the water to feed, they warm themselves up by staying on the black rocks.

When food becomes scarce, they shrink in size! They get shorter until food becomes available again. They will do this a lot over the course of their lifetime.

To help with their swimming adventures, their claws are long and strong, which enables them to hold on to rocks easier, without being tossed around by the waves. Their odd shaped tail, like an alligators, also helps them swim around. They have sharp teeth which helps them collect algae from the rocks.

Since they thrive in the sea, they collect a lot of salt. To get rid of the salt in their system, they will “snort” it out, sometimes giving them what people call a “white wig” on the top of their head.

Another fact about the Marine Iguana, the males change colors depending on seasons. They will turn green or reddish in breeding season.

During the coldest days of the year, the marine Iguanas are unable to move, thus making them vulnerable to enemies. In order to effectively rid their enemies, they will move their tails into the air, making them appear bigger, and they will bite.

Here’s a video of the Marine Iguana in it’s natural habitat.http://youtu.be/iWjDJK8c3z8Resources

- www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Iguana, www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/GalapagosWWW/MarineIguanas.html, www.geometer.org/gal01/iguana