Marine Iguana: Distribution, Price, Diet, and Natural Enemies Explained
The marine iguana is the only iguana in the world that can adapt to life in the ocean. Like fish, they can swim freely in the sea. So, where are marine iguanas distributed? How much does one cost? What food do they eat? What animals are their natural enemies?
1. Where are marine iguanas distributed?
Marine iguanas are distributed on the various islands of the Galapagos Islands. They mainly inhabit rocky seashores, but they also appear in swamps and mangroves. Like fish, they can swim freely in the sea. They live in groups in the volcanic rock areas along the coast and are the lizards best adapted to life in the sea. Because the area around the Galapagos Islands is a cold current zone, this species must first sunbathe to raise its body temperature before it can dive into the sea for short periods to forage. After coming ashore, it still needs to raise its body temperature again by sunbathing.
2. How much does a marine iguana cost?
The market price of marine iguanas is very high. At present, due to global warming and human destruction, their living environment is becoming increasingly harsh, and only about 50,000 remain, so Ecuador has explicitly banned their hunting and sale. The only currently verifiable transaction records are in the United States and Japan. The listed price in the United States is 12,000 USD each, and the transaction price in Japan is 400,000 yuan. It can be said that the marine iguana is a rare species that cannot be sought at will.
3. What food do they eat? What animals are their natural enemies?
Marine iguanas often search along the coastlines of islands for seaweed and crustaceans washed onto the beaches by seawater. The various mollusks attached to coastal rocks are also delicacies for marine iguanas, and they often go into the sea to hunt. When marine iguanas eat seaweed, they take in an excessive amount of salt, but marine iguanas can expel excess salt from their bodies in a special way. In their noses there is a special part called a salt gland, which can separate excess salt from the food in their mouths during chewing and then expel it from the body. So sometimes people see a marine iguana sneezing and spraying out white crystals, when in fact it is excreting salt. As for natural enemies, sea eagles and snakes can be considered its natural enemies.