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Galapagos Pictures - Marine iguanas - Amblyrhynchus cristatus

Thumbnails: 1 - Booby birds | 2 - Other birds | 3 - Marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot | 4 - Tortoises | 5 - Seals | 6 - Landscapes

Living where they do on dark volcanic rocks, these lizards give the impression sometimes that they are part of the rock if not made from it. Their colouration and angular scaliness could almost have been erupted from the same volcanic activity that made the rocks.

As the lizards feed at sea and are cold blooded like all reptiles, they must spend a considerable time basking on the dark larva rocks, particularly as the seas around the Galapagos can be quite cold, this limits the time that they can spend in the water.

They live mainly on land but feed in the inter-tidal zone at depths of up 10m but not often venturing more than 50m offshore, they can remain submerged for upwards of 10 minutes. They feed on algae which gives them a large intake of salt, excess of which is spat out through their nostrils. along with a snorting noise - the only sound they make.

Image copyright Corel corporation. This Image may not be saved or downloaded and may only be used for viewing purposes on this website.

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