Rhinoceros Iguana, like the photogenic one pictured above, are native to Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and can grow up to 4 feet long! They’re covered in scales– small, hard, plate-like thickenings of the skin, which protect bodies and help reduce water loss. Unlike fish scales, squamate (lizards and snakes) scales are specialized folds of skin that help the animals warm themselves from external sources.

Clever solar collectors, Rhinoceros Iguana shift position as the sun moves to fine-tune internal temperature. They can live up to 20 years, and their ancient ancestors may have arrived at remote Fiji from Central America– more than 7,000 miles– on floating clumps of vegetation.

Rhinoceros Iguanas are now classified as vulnerable, mainly due to habitat loss. Today, it is illegal to hunt Rhinoceros Iguanas, and most populations are found in protected areas of the Dominican Republic. Learn more in the Museum’s Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians! https://goo.gl/2hdsX6