🦎
🏷️
Classification
Reptile
🍽️
Diet
Herbivore
⏱️
Lifespan
12–20 years
⚖️
Weight
1–12 kg
Population Trend
📉Decreasing
Description
The world's only seagoing lizard, found on the Galápagos Islands, adapted to forage in the ocean.
Habitat
🌿 rocky coast🌿 volcanic island🌿 intertidal zone
Extended Data
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Iguanidae
Genus
Amblyrhynchus
Fun Facts
1
They can dive up to 30 meters deep and hold their breath for over an hour.
2
Marine iguanas shrink in size during food shortages to survive El Niño events.
3
They sneeze out excess salt ingested from seawater through special glands.
4
Charles Darwin called them 'hideous-looking' and 'imps of darkness.'
5
They bask in the sun for hours to warm up before entering the cold ocean water.