Reptile

A heap of dark marine iguanas piled on top of each other on a concrete walkway, basking together beside green mangroves

Cuddle puddle of iguanas

📍 Galápagos Islands Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) The only lizard on Earth that forages in the ocean, marine iguanas lose heat rapidly after diving in cold Pacific waters and pile together on land to warm back up — a behavior called “thermoregulatory huddling.” Endemic to the Galápagos and present on every island year-round, often gathering in dense colonies along the shore. Modeled range · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map | IUCN Red List

Juvenile marine iguana basking on porous black lava rock with ocean waves crashing behind it

Iguana, Galápagos

📍 Galápagos Islands Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) The world’s only ocean-foraging lizard, this juvenile is soaking up heat on volcanic rock before its next dive into the cold Cromwell Current to graze on algae. Endemic to the Galápagos and found on every island in the archipelago, year-round. Modeled range · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map | IUCN Red List

A marine iguana sprawled flat on sun-warmed rock, dead asleep beside a tangle of mangrove roots

Napping iguana

📍 Galápagos Islands Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) To cope with a diet of seawater-soaked algae, it filters excess salt through specialized nasal glands and sneezes it out in fine crusty sprays — which is why basking iguanas are often dusted white around the snout. Abundant and year-round throughout the Galápagos archipelago, with the largest concentrations on Isabela and Fernandina. Modeled range · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map | Galápagos Conservancy

Marine iguanas nearly invisible against black lava rock on an Isabela shoreline under a dramatic sky

Dozens of iguanas blending into the volcanic rock

📍 Isla Isabela, Galápagos Islands Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) Their soot-black hide is near-perfect camouflage against the volcanic rock, and they pack onto the lava in such numbers that a whole colony can go unnoticed until one moves. Abundant and year-round on Isla Isabela, where the island’s vast volcanic coastline provides prime basking and foraging habitat for some of the archipelago’s largest colonies. Modeled range · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map | Galápagos Conservancy

A green sea turtle glides over algae-covered rocks in the shallow turquoise waters of the Galápagos

Green sea turtle, Galápagos

📍 Galápagos Islands Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) The largest hard-shelled sea turtle in the world, named not for its shell but for the green color of its body fat — tinted by an adult diet of seagrass and algae. Resident year-round in the Galápagos, where the archipelago’s nutrient-rich upwelling supports one of the Eastern Pacific’s most important nesting and foraging populations. Modeled range · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map | SWOT Map

An adult Galápagos giant tortoise soaks chin-deep in a muddy highland wallow surrounded by lush green trees

Giant tortoise, Galápagos

📍 Galápagos Islands Galápagos Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis porteri) The world’s largest living tortoise — dome-shelled adults can top 400 kg and live well past 100 years, and they love a good mud bath to cool down and shed parasites. Giant tortoises are resident year-round across the Galápagos archipelago; the highland wallows of Santa Cruz Island are one of the easiest places to watch them soak. Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map