Animal Unique | Marine Iguana | The Marine Iguanas are an iguana only on the Galapagos Islands, which has the ability, unique among modern lizards to live and forage in the sea, making it a reptile. The Marine Iguanas can dive over 10 meters in the water. It has spread to all islands in the archipelago, and is sometimes called the Galapagos Marine Iguana. They live on the rocky coast, Galapagos, but can also be spotted in marshes and mangrove beaches.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Iguanidae
Genus: Amblyrhynchus
Species: A. cristatus
Marine Iguanas are the world's only seagoing lizards, iguanas and a gray to black with pyramid-shaped dorsal (top) scales. They differ from land iguanas through their short, blunt snout and slightly laterally compressed tail efficiently this lizard moves along the surface or under water. Young people have a light stripe along the back. The long, sharp, recurved claws allow the lizard to stick to the lava in heavy seas or when submerged.
Like many lizards, Marine Iguanas are often bask in the sun. This species should be warm body after swimming in cold water from the ocean in search of food, because reptiles do not have the ability to thermoregulate. Their dark color allows them to quickly absorb heat. When their body temperature is low, these animals move slowly and thus a greater risk from predators. To counter this vulnerability, Marine Iguanas shows a very aggressive behavior to bluff her way to escape.
The Marine Iguanas is dependent on its marine environment and is therefore equipped with a nasal glands to excrete excess salt. For feeding the Marine Iguanas to raise its body temperature to about 36 ° C . These iguanas are ectotherms and can lose up to 10 ° C when outside in the ocean. To regulate their body temperature they must bask in the sun for a long time.
Marine Iguanas are herbivores that mainly feed on marine algae. Adults often feed on large, often diving at high tide. Dives are usually shallow, from 1.5 to 5 m outside, but large adults dive to a depth of 15 m or more. Dive times are typically only a few minutes, but there are reports of Marine Iguanas underwater for more than half hour. Young feed in the intertidal zone at low tide.
Animal Discovery And Animal Unique In The World