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Marine Iguana
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
MARINE IGUANA
Amblyrhynchus cristatus
Scientists figure that land-dwelling iguanas from South America must have drifted out to sea millions of years ago on logs or other debris, eventually landing on the Galápagos. From that species emerged marine iguanas, which spread to nearly all the islands of the archipelago. Each island hosts marine iguanas of unique size, shape and color.
They look fierce, but are actually gentle herbivores, surviving exclusively on underwater algae and seaweed. Their short, blunt snouts and small, razor-sharp teeth help them scrape the algae off rocks, and their laterally flattened tails let them move crocodile-like through the water. Their claws are long and sharp for clinging to rocks on shore or underwater in heavy currents. They have dark gray coloring to better absorb sunlight after their forays into the frigid Galápagos waters. And they even have special glands that clean their blood of extra salt, which they ingest while feeding. They sneeze frequently to expel salt from glands near their noses. The salt often lands on their heads, giving them a distinctive white wig.
Source |
Hotelcalifornia, Miss_Piggy, peter_stoeckl has marked this note useful
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Hello Mr.Manyee,
Another beautiful species.I didn't know there are so many different kind of Iguana.Nice colour and sharpness.
Thanks for sharing,
Regards and have a nice time,
Srikumar
Hallo Manyee
Now this is not what I will call pretty, but it is very interesting to look at the close details of this Marine Iguana.
Amazing closeup composition with razor sharp details and great colors. This was all made possible with some brilliant camera work. Best regards and thanks for sharing.
Anna
- lousat
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 6595 W: 89 N: 15659]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(65489) - [2014-02-07 8:48]
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Hi Manyee,a lot of colors and a great portrait,excellent way to show us this beautiful iguana with the best detail too,i like it! Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano
Excellent Iguana's portrait, Manyee.
Precisely detailed on the target, well composed and framed to deliver the reptile's powerful presence.
I like the unusual mixture of colours - blue, green, and ochre. They seem to repeat the reptile's coastline habitat where it seems to be very well camouflaged.
With thanks, and best regards,
Peter
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1519 W: 24 N: 2225]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(14408)![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 2285 W: 5 N: 5300]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
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