Iguanamarina🦎

Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0

SpeciesIguanidae
Reptiles

🦎Marine iguana

Amblyrhynchus cristatus Bell, 1825

The marine iguana, also known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galápagos marine iguana, is a species of iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a marine reptile that has the ability to forage in the sea for algae, which make up almost all of its diet. Marine iguanas are the only extant lizard that spends time in a marine environment. Large males are able to dive to find this food source, while females and smaller males feed during low tide in the intertidal zone. They mainly live in colonies on rocky shores where they bask after visiting the relatively cold water or intertidal zone, but can also be seen in marshes, mangrove swamps and beaches. Large males defend territories for a short period, but smaller males have other breeding strategies. After mating, the female digs a nest hole in the soil where she lays her eggs, leaving them to hatch on their own a few months later.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos
8
Photos
3
Measurements
8
vs you
≈ 1/28th of your weight
Also called
Galapagos Marine Iguana, Sea Iguana, Fernandina Marine Iguana, Galapagos marine iguana, Galápagos Marine Iguana
Conservation status
VUVulnerable

IUCN Red List assessment, 2020.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
2.23 kg
Body length
1.3 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
6.4 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Marine iguana

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
2.23 kgrecord 7.41 kg · ReptTraits
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Body length
1.3 mmaximum recorded, total length
SeaLifeBase
Other figures ↓

Source: SeaLifeBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

By sex

  • Female0.6 mSeaLifeBasev25.04
Maximum lifespan
6.4 yearsrecord 28 years · ReptTraits
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Diet
Herbivorous
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Activity cycle
Diurnal
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Venomous
No
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Snout–vent length
0.56 mmaximum recorded
ReptTraits
Other figures ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

By sex

  • Female0.32 mReptTraitsv1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024)
Volume l
2.2 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Marine iguana yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classSquamata
  4. ›familyIguanidae
  5. ›genusAmblyrhynchus
  6. ›speciesAmblyrhynchus cristatus
Full lineage
  1. orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
  2. suborderIguania
  3. subfamilyIguaninae
  4. genusAmblyrhynchus
All 13 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. orderSauria
  9. superorderLepidosauria
  10. orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
  11. suborderIguania
  12. subfamilyIguaninae
  13. genusAmblyrhynchus
More

More about the Marine iguana

In other languages
Amblyrhynchus cristatus (es), Iguane marin des Galapagos (fr), legwan morski (pl), איגואנה ימית (he), 바다이구아나 (ko), tengeri leguán (hu) … and 24 more languages

Animals caught on camera

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