Marine iguana - Umiiguana (English spelling)

A lizard of the Iguanidae family of the Squamata order of the Reptilia class. Also known as the sea lizard. It is found in the Galapagos Islands, which are part of Ecuador. It is about 1.5 meters long. Its long, laterally flattened tail is suitable for swimming. Despite its strange appearance, it is docile and grows in colonies on the reefs of the coast, overlapping each other. It is the only lizard species that enters the sea and feeds on seaweed. It swims in the sea at low tide and eats seaweed attached to rocks, and sometimes dives underwater to search for them. Excess salt that enters its body with food is expelled through salt glands that open in its nostrils. If a person approaches, it will scare them by spraying seawater that has accumulated in its nostrils and secretions from its salt glands. The round-tailed Galapagos land iguana Conolophus subcristatus lives inland and feeds on raw cacti and other plants.

[Takahiro Matsui]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

爬虫(はちゅう)綱有鱗(ゆうりん)目イグアナ科のトカゲ。別名ウミトカゲ。エクアドル領ガラパゴス諸島に分布する。全長約1.5メートル。尾は長くて側扁(そくへん)し遊泳に適している。奇異な容貌(ようぼう)にもかかわらず性質はおとなしく、海岸の岩礁に重なり合うように群生している。トカゲでは、海に入ったり海藻を常食としたりする唯一の種で、引き潮時に海を泳ぎ、岩に付着した海藻を食べるが、そのとき海中に潜って捜すこともある。餌(えさ)とともに体内に入った余分な塩分は、鼻孔に開いた塩腺(えんせん)によって排出される。人が近寄ると、鼻孔にたまった海水と塩腺の分泌液を吹き出して脅かす。尾の丸いガラパゴスリクイグアナConolophus subcristatusは内陸部に生息し、サボテンなどを生食する。

［松井孝爾］

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