Iguanas are stout lizards with short legs and long tails that make up over half of their body length. Iguanas come in all different colors ranging from green to blue, black and pink. However, all iguanas are covered with soft, leathery scales.
Although mainly arboreal and terrestrial, green iguanas are often found near water. Iguanas are excellent swimmers and will often dive into water from up to 50 feet in order to escape predators. Iguanas use their tail to propel them through water instead of swimming with their four legs. They can even comfortably stay under water for up to 30 minutes.
Iguanas are a social species (even though they do display territoriality). Groups of these lizards can often be seen basking in the sun or foraging for leaves, flowers, greens, and fruits to eat.
Once a female iguana is sexually mature, she will lay 20 to 70 eggs once per year during the nesting season. Seven to ten weeks after mating, the female iguana will lay her eggs and cover them with sand. Females show form of parental care after she is done laying her eggs.
Iguanas are able to defend themselves from predatory birds and foxes in many different ways. Iguanas have a strong jaw with a row of serrated teeth that help the iguana bite a predator. They also have a row of spines from their back to their tail, which stab the predator when the iguana thrashes its tail. Green iguanas also possess tail autonomy and a parietal eye that helps them in detected predators.
Green iguanas can be found in the rain forests of northern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean Islands, southern Brazil, and Paraguay. However, these iguanas are considered a huge pest and an invasive species in many regions. When talking to the locals in Puerto Rico, they referred to them as ‘Gallina de palo’. The island of Puerto Rico is currently selling iguanas for meat in order to eradicate the growing population of four million green iguanas.
1 comment:
How large was the individual you observed?
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