The Marine Iguana

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The Marine Iguana can also be known as its scientific name, Amblyrhynchus cristatus. They are found only on the Galapagos Islands, and have been called the reptiles of the sea. The Marine Iguana weighs up to 10kgs and can be up to 100cm’s in length, although the weight and lengths vary depending on what island they are from throughout the Galapagos islands. The Marine Iguana is usually seen as black and grey, occasionally going red and green during the breeding seasons. Because the Marine Iguana is a cold blooded animal, their dark colours help to attract heat to their bodies to make them warm, because the Galapagos islands have volcanic rocks, the Marine Iguana’s can lay on them to get warm after swimming or hunting.

- Habitat of the animal (any environmental conditions)
Marine iguanas are only found in the Galapagos Islands archipelago off the coast of South America. Marine iguanas are widely distributed throughout the islands. They barely migrate as they have majorly adapted to their habitat and could only survive throughout the Galapagos Islands. Usually they are found around the ocean, because they need to hunt and they stay around the shoreline so they can get warm on the volcanic rocks after being in the sea. Throughout the islands there are many different species of Marine Iguana’s, all having their survival methods to be able to live in their environment’s conditions.

- Mating and territorial behaviours:
The Marine Iguana breads in the seasons of December – March, and Nesting seasons often lasts from January – April. The male Marine Iguana’s are approximately 6-8 years when they reach sexual maturity, whereas females are only 3-5 years old. The Males are always defending the mating territories, they are kno...

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...us; this environmental cause can majorly harm the Marine Iguana species by eliminating their standard food source. Humans have also had a major impact to the life of the Marine Iguana, Major oil spills and different kinds of sea pollution effects their food and natural habitats.

- Future of this species (you need to draw predictions and make conclusions from your research)
From my research on the species of The Marine Iguana, I have investigated the impact man-made, environmental and animal threats have on the Marine Iguana and how it could further impact their futures. My predictions for the future of the Marine Iguana are that eventually they will become a majorly endangered species. From different threats such as man-made Oil Spills, El Nino, Marine pollution and other species of animals, I believe that the health of the marine iguana will be at major risk.

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