page_title: Green iguana
section_title: Reproductive biology
hierarchical_section_title: Green iguana / Reproductive biology
caption_attribution_description: English: Green iguana (Iguana iguana) juvenile, Grand Cayman
context_page_description: The green iguana, also known as the American iguana, is a large, arboreal, mostly herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana. Usually, this animal is simply called the iguana. The green iguana ranges over a large geographic area; it is native from southern Brazil and Paraguay as far north as Mexico, and have been introduced from South America to Puerto Rico and are very common throughout the island, where they are colloquially known as gallina de palo and considered an invasive species; in the United States, feral populations also exist in South Florida, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Green iguanas have also successfully colonised the island of Anguilla, arriving on the island in 1995 after rafting across the Caribbean from Guadeloupe.
  A herbivore, it has adapted significantly with regard to locomotion and osmoregulation as a result of its diet. It grows to 1.5 metres in length from head to tail, although a few specimens have grown more than 2 metres with bodyweights upward of 20 pounds.
  Commonly found in captivity as a pet due to its calm disposition and bright colors, it can be very demanding to care for properly.
context_section_description: Male green iguanas have highly developed femoral pores on the underside of their thighs which secrete a scent (females have femoral pores, but they are smaller in comparison to those of the males). In addition, the dorsal spines that run along a green iguana's back are noticeably longer and thicker in males than they are in females, making the animals somewhat sexually dimorphic.
  Male green iguanas tend to display more dominant behaviors, such as head bobbing and tail whipping. They also tend to develop a taller dorsal crest than females, as well as taller dorsal spines (or spikes).  Large,  round, very pronounced jowls are generally a male characteristic. Jowls are located under the jaw and are protected by the subtympanic plate, which is a large, green, circular-shaped scale.
  Green iguanas are oviparous, with females laying clutches of 20 to 71 eggs once per year during a synchronized nesting period. The female green iguana gives no parental protection after egg laying, apart from defending the nesting burrow during excavation. In Panama, the green iguana has been observed sharing nest sites with American crocodiles and in Honduras with spectacled caimans.
  The hatchlings emerge from the nest after 10–15 weeks of incubation. Once hatched, the young iguanas look similar to the adults in color and shape, resembling adult females more so than males and lacking dorsal spines.
  Juveniles stay in familial groups for the first year of their lives. Male green iguanas in these groups often use their own bodies to shield and protect females from predators and it appears to be the only species of reptile which does this.
caption: Juvenile green iguana,
  Grand Cayman
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