Marine Iguana

Marine Iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus
Restricted to the Galápagos Islands, this primeval-looking reptile is the only lizard that feeds exclusively at sea once it is an adult. The size and weight of this species varies between islands.

Marine Iguana - Amblyrhynchus cristatus
By Laura Klappenbach, About.com Guide
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Marine iguanas are widely distributed throughout the islands. Although the different populations vary in size and color, they are all considered to be a single species.

Marine Iguana Range
Fast Facts
Type: Reptile Diet: Herbivore Average life span in the wild: 5 to 12 years Size: 4 to 5 ft (1.2 to 1.5 m) Weight: 1 to 3.3 lbs (.5 to 1.5 kg) Protection status: Threatened Did you know?

Marine Iguana Species Profile
No one has ever successfully kept these ultra-specialized lizards outside their native turf.

Marine iguanas are found all through the Galapagos Islands. Although the iguanas on each island look a little different and are different in size, they are all the same kind of iguana.

Marine iguana
Marine iguanas are the only marine lizards on Earth. They are usually grey or black, but develop red or green patches in the mating season, probably from eating particular types of seaweed which are available then.

Marine Iguana
Perhaps no member of the Galapagos fauna has met with as much revulsion by historic visitors as the marine iguana, Amblyrhynchus cristatus. In 1798, Captain James Colnett wrote: ...

Galapagos marine iguanas are active during the day and spend the first few hours after sunrise basking in the sun in preparation for activity.

Like many of the animals on the Galápagos, the marine iguanas are completely unafraid of people, so you can get decent pictures of them even with the lousy camera I had back then.
Sighting:
April, 1994 ...

Marine Iguanas spit salt water and laze around in the sun usually on the rocks. The famous red crabs of the Galápagos are black when young. Pelicans, Oystercatchers, Galápagos Penguins and a Great Blue Heron were seen from the beach.

Marine Iguana
Brachylophus
Fiji Banded Iguana Â- Fiji Crested Iguana Â- Brachylophus bulabula ...

Although marine iguanas have been demonstrated to actually shrink a miniscule amount when they are starving, no such change is known for any snake.

- Many of us think lizards live only in deserts, yet the marine iguanas of the Galápagos Islands (off the coast of Ecuador) are excellent swimmers.

The land iguanas, Conolophus, feed on terrestrial plants, including cactus, whereas the marine iguanas, Amblyrhynchus cristatus, feed on marine algae. These marine iguanas, up to 1.

January 23, 2012 " Land and marine iguanas and giant tortoises living close to human settlements or tourist sites in the Galapagos islands were more likely to harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria than those living in ... > full story ...

Marine iguanas, land iguanas, ground iguanas exhibit head bobs with little movement
Banded iguanas, spiny-tailed iguanas, green iguanas exhibit exaggerated head bobs and, in some species, slight straightening of front legs ...

Forest Iguana - Polychrus acuttirostris
Galapagos Land Iguana - Conolophus subcristatus
Galapagos Marine Iguana - Amblyrhynchus cristatus
Rhinoceros Iguana - Cyclura corhuta
Spiny-tail (Black) Iguana - Ctenosaura similis ...

A marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), the only marine lizard, is found in the Galapagos Islands, where there is also a land species (Conolophus subcristatus). The large, diverse iguana family includes many smaller species not called iguanas.

See also: Iguana, Lizard, Reptile, Snake, Land Iguana