The Rhinoceros Iguana (Cyclura cornuta) is a large reptile – it is a lizard.

The Rhinoceros Iguana is grey-brown or grey-green. It has a bony horn-like lump on its nose, which looks like a rhinoceros horn. It has a crest of pointed scales from the nape of its neck to to the tip of its long tail. It has blue eyes.

It grows to abut 136 centimetres (54 inches) long.

The Rhinoceros Iguana is found on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. It prefers woodlands, dry forests, lowlands, and rocky locations. Males are territorial, defending their territory from other males.

It is diurnal, active during the day.

It is herbivorous, eating leaves, flowers, and fruit. Sometimes it will eat lizards, snakes, and insects.

Females lay 2-34 eggs, which hatch after about 85 days. The eggs are among the largest lizard eggs in the world.

 

 

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM