Page 378 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

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EQUIPPED TO GRIP
An adult marine Iguana sprawls on the
sand, displaying the broad feet and long
claws it uses to grip submerged rocks
while it tears off mouthfuls of food.

blunt head with powerful jaws and a
ORDER SQUAMATA
distinctive spiky crest that runs down SURVIVING THE COLD
Marine Iguana its head, neck, and back. This lizard’s
powerful claws help it clamber over Although the Galapagos Islands are helping it conserve energy to keep
rocks, while its tail propels its through
Amblyrhynchus cristatus on the equator, they are bathed by its core temperature higher than
water. It feeds on seaweeds and other
LENGTH Up to 5 ft the chilly Humboldt Current, the water around it. At night, the
(1.5m), but often smaller algae. The young feed above the water, which flows northward along the iguanas often huddle together to
1
WEIGHT Females (1 / 8 lb) but adults dive up to 33 ft (10 m), and west coast of South America. Being keep themselves warm.
500 g; males 3 1 / 3 lb (1.5 can hold their breath for over an hour. a reptile, the marine iguana cannot
kg), sometimes larger During the day, they spend their time generate its own body heat and
HABITAT Rocky coasts feeding and sunbathing to raise their needs special adaptations for feeding BASKING IN THE SUN
When it returns to land, the marine iguana
DISTRIBUTION Galapagos Islands body temperature. in these conditions. When it dives, sprawls over rocks just above the surf to soak
During the breeding season, male its heart rate drops by about half, up warmth from the sun through its skin.
Restricted to the Galapagos Islands, this marine iguanas engage in lengthy
primeval-looking reptile is the only headbutting contests as they compete
lizard that feeds exclusively at sea once for mates. Females lay up to six eggs
it is an adult. The size and weight of this in the sand, and the young emerge after
species varies between islands. It has a an incubation period of up to three
months. Marine iguanas have many
spiky
crest natural predators, including sharks and
birds of prey, and have been severely
affected by introduced animals, such
OCEAN LIFE its diet from glands near its nose.
as rats and dogs.
blunt
snout
PROFILE OF A GRAZER
Unlike predatory lizards, the marine
iguana has blunt but powerful jaws.
It secretes the surplus salt derived from