How a barren wasteland forged the world's only marine iguana
In short: Discover how a group of stranded reptiles transformed from mainland herbivores into specialized survivors on a desolate volcanic archipelago.
Millions of years ago, floods and storms swept iguanas from the South American continent to the Galapagos Islands, located 1,000km away. Faced with a landscape of lava-riddled rocks and a severe lack of fresh water and traditional food sources, these settlers were forced to adapt or perish.
The resulting evolution produced a unique species: the marine iguana. These reptiles adapted to feed on cacti and became the only marine iguanas in existence. Their journey from mainland herbivores to island specialists serves as a primary case study in the biological mechanisms of survival.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Survivors | Galapagos: The Edge of the World 1/3 | Go Wild
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