The Galápagos marine iguana – a dragon that sneezes salt
Anyone seeing a marine iguana in the Galápagos for the first time might almost think a small dinosaur had just crawled out of a volcano. With its black, spiky back, powerful claws, flattened tail, and a head often framed by a white salt crust, it's not exactly a pretty sight.
But that's precisely what makes them so fascinating.
The Galápagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) It is unique worldwide: it is the only lizard that regularly searches for food in the ocean. It lives exclusively on the Galápagos Islands and has perfectly adapted to life between hot lava rock and cold Pacific water.
From land to sea
And here begins an amazing evolutionary story.
The ancestors of the Galápagos iguanas originally came from the South American continent. They likely reached the remote islands on floating rafts of plants or vegetation. However, food was scarce on the young, volcanic islands. Over millions of years, the animals therefore adapted to an unusual new food source: Algae in the sea.
They look like tiny ornaments on their skin.
The marine iguana eventually evolved from a lineage of land iguanas. It is the only lizard in the world that actively dives for food in the ocean.
The result is an animal that appears rather clumsy on land, but moves surprisingly elegantly in the water.
A vegetarian who dives
Marine iguanas feed mainly on red and green algae. With their short, blunt mouths and small teeth, they rasp the algae off the rocks.
Larger animals can swim further out to sea and cling to rocks with their powerful claws, while smaller marine iguanas usually stay in more protected areas.
🤧 Why does the marine iguana sneeze salt?
This is probably one of the funniest facts about the Galápagos.
When feeding, the marine iguana inevitably ingests large quantities of saltwater. This would be a real problem for a land reptile.
However, marine iguanas possess special salt glands. These filter excess salt from the body and excrete it through the nostrils.
That's why you see a real [condition] in some animals. white salt crust on the nose and head.
And when the marine iguana exhales forcefully, it actually looks as if it is sneezing salt.
So, a little "salt dragon".
Their biggest problem: the cold sea
This is a dilemma for the marine iguana:
There is usually plenty of food in the sea – but the water draws heat away from their bodies.
That's why marine iguanas are often seen lying huddled together on black lava rocks.
They're literally basking in the sun.
Although the Galápagos Islands lie directly on the equator, the sea around the islands is surprisingly cold in some places. This is due to the cold ocean currents that bring nutrient-rich water from the depths to the surface.
Their dark skin helps them absorb the sun's warmth. Only when their body temperature is high enough do they return to the sea to feed.
