The Marine Iguana
ADAPTATIONS
Being the only Iguana or lizard in the world that can go underwater, the marine iguana cant just be like any other f the iguana family. There are many adaptations that contribute to the Iguanas unique ability and help it survive in the galapagos.
Swimming Tail
Feeding Mouth
The tail of a marine iguana can easily be compared to the tail of an alligator. Longer than the body and laterally flat it provides bot propulsion and steering to the iguana. Allowing it to push itself down to the ocean floor to eat. It can also able the iguana to turn rapidly.
The Marine iguanas mouth is perfectly adapted to feeding on the marine algae that makes up its diet. With razor sharp teeth, it can easily scrape algae off rocks, And its tough face stops the rocks from easily cutting into it.
Gripping Feet
Though they seem quite unimportant, the claws of the marine iguana are very much needed. If they weren't sharp enough, the iguana would have a hard time trying to stay clinging to the rock of which it was feeding on. Especially in the many currents tat surround the galapagos. However, the marine iguana has evolved to have claws that are long enough and sharp enough to cling steadily to the rock, stopping the creature from floating away.
Marine Iguanas spend a majority of their time basking in the sun, after their endeavours into the frigid water that surrounds them, the basking is necessary to keep warm. Their darkish grey colour helps majorly by absorbing as much heat as possible while at the same time roughly blending in with the rocky shore that they live on.
The most obvious adaptation of the marine iguana is its ability to go underwater; however, this ability is made up of many smaller but more specific adaptations to its body. Perhaps the most important is the tail, the iguana’s tail 1 and a half the size of its body. Largely flexible but very strong and muscled, it heavily compares to that of an alligator. Being laterally flattened to move more water, the tails can easily propel the iguana forward as well as help it turn while turning, it also provide balance when gripping onto the slippery rocks against the strong ocean currents that surround the Galapagos. Though the tail seems the most influential, other abilities are needed to complete the ability to not only dive underwater but feed underwater. Such as the claws, which are very strong and thick, note forgetting sharp. These can dig through algae and grip strongly to the rock that the iguana happens to be feeding on, allowing it to stay stable and feed thoroughly on one rock before moving on. Two more adaptations are essential, the mouth and snout and the salt glands. The marine iguana species has razor sharp teeth, perfect for scraping the algae off of rocks. The face or snout is also more blunt than with other iguanas so that the mouth can fully reach the rock, as well as the skin in that area being very thick so as not to be scraped by rough rocks. The salt glands mentioned are small glands placed directly under the creatures eyes. These clean the iguanas blood of extra salt that is consumed from their diet and salt water swallowed when underwater. The salt can be easily sneezed out of the glands, though the salt often simply lands back on the iguana, creating a distinctive cap of salt on their heads. Though this adaption is not directly used underwater, it completes the underwater process.
Warming Colour