The only ocean-going lizard, and it shrinks its own skeleton
This is the only lizard on Earth that swims in the ocean, sneezes salt, and shrinks when food runs out.
Which one is REALLY true about the Marine Iguana?
The short version
The Galapagos marine iguana dives up to thirty feet to graze on algae, fires excess salt out through a nasal gland in visible sneezes, and during harsh El Nino years can reabsorb its own bone to shrink several inches, then grow back when food returns.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Marine Iguana is the only lizard on Earth that swims and feeds in the open ocean.
- ✓The Marine Iguana dives up to thirty feet down to graze on algae growing across underwater rocks.
- ✓The Marine Iguana hauls itself onto hot black rock to bake in the sun after cold saltwater drains its body heat.
- ✓The Marine Iguana fires excess salt back out through a gland in its nose, sneezing crystals over its own face.
- ✓The Marine Iguana can reabsorb its own bone in harsh El Nino years, losing several inches of length, then grow back when the algae returns.
You could line up about 1 of them along a 7-year-old!
The full story
This is the only lizard on Earth that swims in the open ocean. Meet the marine iguana of the Galapagos Islands, a reptile that dives up to thirty feet down to graze on algae growing across the rocks. Cold saltwater would kill most lizards, so it hauls itself out to bake in the sun, and it swallows so much salt that it fires the excess back out through a gland in its nose, sneezing crystals all over its own face. But the strangest part happens when the food runs out. During harsh El Nino years, a marine iguana can actually shrink, reabsorbing its own bone to lose several inches of length, then growing back again once the algae returns. No other lizard anywhere on Earth has ever learned to make a living out of the open sea like this. Follow for more weird animal facts.
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“The Marine Iguana is the only lizard on Earth that swims and feeds in the open ocean.”
“The Marine Iguana copies the shape and the behavior of at least fifteen different species.”
“The Marine Iguana dives up to thirty feet down to graze on algae growing across underwater rocks.”