Week5 The Galapagos' Animals 2

Hello everyone.
This is the second week that I will introduce unique animals which live in the Galapagos Islands.
In this week, I will talk about Galapagos’ unique iguanas.



・The galapagos land iguana

The galapagos land iguana is a large-sized iguana which lives only in the Galapagos Islands. They are around 50cm tall. The fruit and flower of a prickly pear are a favorite food for them. They may also eat other plants and insects. The male galapagos land iguanas wag their head or push their head for each other to do a territorial fight. It is powerful so that it likes a battle of dinosaurs. The galapagos land iguana is also only in the Galapagos Islands. This large-sized iguana was much till the 19th century. However, when many human beings came to have come to the Galapagos Islands, they were likely to be exterminated. The greatest cause is the animal which man took from outside. They were attacked by the dog which became wild, and their egg eaten by the pig, and the plant of food for them was eaten by the goat. The galapagos land iguana evolved in the environment in which a natural enemy is not has no chance. Now, such animals are exterminated in order to keep the living thing and environment of the Galapagos Islands. Of course, it is guiltless to a dog or a pig. But it is very dangerous to change an ecosystem by human.

・The Santa Fe Land Iguana

They like the galapagos land iguana. But their skin is more yellowish than the galapagos land iguana, and they have bigger prickle than the galapagos land iguana.

・The galapagos marine iguana

The galapagos marine iguana is the only iguana which goes under the sea. It is said that the galapagos marine iguana and the galapagos land iguana have same ancestor. Diving for several minutes to tens of minutes is possible for a male galapagos marine iguana with big body. They eat seaweed. After going to the sea to eat seaweed, the galapagos marine iguana, the poikilothermal animal, sunbathes near the seashore in order to raise body temperature because The Sea in Galapagos is very cold under the influence of a cold current.

・The Hybrid Iguana

The Hybrid Iguana is the hybrid of male galapagos marine iguana and female galapagos land iguana.  Because of the global warming, the seaweed which is the galapagos marine iguana’s food decreased. In quest of new food, the galapagos marine iguana settled in the land of the island and they crossed with female galapagos land iguana. The Hybrid Iguanas have sharp nails to climb and eat cactus and they can dive into sea and eat seaweed. It is thought that the hybrid iguana which has this outstanding physical strength can adapt itself to a future climate change. However, their reproductive ability cannot be checked.


Next week, I will talk about unique animals which live in the Galapagos Islands, too.
The animal are Galapagos’ unique birds.
Thank you for your reading. See you later.