Mar 20 2008

Iguanas!!!

Published by at 10:17 pm under Galapagos,South America

I cannot get enough of iguanas. They are amazing. Before the trip, I was really looking forward to seeing both the Land Iguana and Marine Iguana of the Galapagos Islands. Imagine how happy I was to discover that the iguanas are different on the various islands!!! Different colors, different features!

Here are pictures of Marine Iguanas:

Marine Iguana 1

Many of the Marine Iguanas we saw had this Black-Grey Coloration

Marine Iguana 2

But the Marine Iguanas on Espanola are Red and Green!

And here are pictures of Land Iguanas:

Land Iguana 1

A Fine Specimen From Isabela Island

Land Iguana 2

Land Iguana 3

The Male Land Iguanas on South Plaza Island have Bright Yellow Accents (and the Females love to Eat!)

Land Iguana 4

Santa Fe Has its own Pale-Colored Species of Land Iguana

And our Naturalist Guide, Martin, saved the best part until near the end of the trip. On South Plaza Island (and only on South Plaza Island), a male Marine Iguana has mated with a female Land Iguana and produced hybrid offspring!!! AND WE SAW ONE!!! Here it is:

Hybrid Iguana

The Holy-Grail: Hybrid Land/Marine Iguana

It’s the same concept as a mule (which is a cross between a horse and a donkey). The offspring is sterile, so it won’t be able to reproduce. But honestly, how incredible is nature? Is anyone else as excited about this as I am???

One response so far

One Response to “Iguanas!!!”

  1. Sara says:

    Yes, I am excited (although the green and red marine iguana is still my favorite.)