Answer is A
Explanation:
Scientists believe that the ancestor of the present-day marine iguana (that guests are able to walk alongside) arrived in the archipelago many millions of years ago. Theories abound of how these ancestors possibly drifted to the islands aboard driftwood or debris from the mainland that were pushed out and carried by the strong ocean currents. Since then, marine iguanas in Galapagos have managed to spread out across the numerous islands that exist in the archipelago, diversifying and populating the vast number of beautiful beaches that they are home to. Consequently, their spreading also led to small little distinctions in their appearance, sometimes even creating spectacular changes in color, too. Most notably: greener iguanas are found on Santiago Island while redder iguanas are often found on Española.
Christmas iguanas can be found on Española Island
The Christmas iguana is an example of how unique the Galapagos are. Discover it through our Eastern Galapagos Itinerary.
The easiest way of distinguishing a marine iguana is by checking out their tail – usually laterally flattened – and their relatively flat, almost square snout. The difference between gender usually has to do with their coloring, with males typically retaining a brighter shade and larger body size.
Galapagos marine iguana basking under the sun.
The marine iguana is part of our Galapagos iconic species.
Marine Iguanas in Galapagos: How Far They’ve Come
It is believed that marine iguanas in Galapagos diverged from their ancestor some 5.7 million years ago, which make its distinctive traits mentioned above some of the things that separate them from their land-dwelling cousins. Said traits are present in order to allow marine iguanas in Galapagos to better deal with its “newish” environment, turning these traits into features that benefit their swimming skills more than anything else. Their unique, flattened tail, for example, helps them to steer their bodies underwater and dive to the ocean floor to feed on the algae that makes up a substantial part of their diet. Their square noses and razor teeth have given them the ability to get their mouths that much closer to the tenacious algae that stick to the underwater volcanic rock, allowing them to pull it off with greater force. Longer claws, even, have given them the ability to cling to underwater rocks in the face of powerful currents.
