1/16/25, 8:14 AM Green iguana - Wikipedia
Green iguana
The green iguana (Iguana iguana), also known as the
American iguana or the common green iguana, is a Green iguana[1]
large, arboreal, mostly herbivorous species of lizard of the Temporal range: Holocene -
genus Iguana. Usually, this animal is simply called the Recent[2][3]
iguana. The green iguana ranges over a large geographic
area; it is native from southern Brazil and Paraguay as far
north as Mexico.
A herbivore, it has adapted significantly with regard to
locomotion and osmoregulation as a result of its diet. It
grows to 1.7 m (5.6 ft) in length from head to tail, although a
few specimens have grown more than 2 m (6.6 ft) with
bodyweights upward of 9 kg (20 lb).
Commonly found in captivity as a pet due to its calm
disposition and bright colors, it can be very demanding to
care for properly. Space requirements and the need for
special lighting and heat can prove challenging to the
hobbyist.
An adult green iguana in Costa Rica
Taxonomy
The species was first officially described by Swedish botanist
Carl Linnaeus in 1758.[6] Since then, numerous subspecies
have been identified, but later classified as merely regional
variants of the same species.[6]
Using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA-sequence data to A juvenile green iguana in Grand
explore the phylogenic history of the green iguana, scientists Cayman
from El Salvador, Mexico, and the United States studied Conservation status
animals collected from 17 countries.[7] The topology of
phylogeny indicated that the species originated in South
America and eventually radiated through Central America
and the Caribbean.[7] The study revealed no unique Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[4]
mitochondrial DNA haplotypes for subspecific status, but
did indicate the deep lineage divergence between Central CITES Appendix II (CITES)[5]
and South American populations.[7] Scientific classification
Naturalists once classified the Central American iguanas as Domain: Eukaryota
a separate subspecies (I. i. rhinolopha), but this Kingdom: Animalia
classification was later found to be invalid based on
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