The green iguana, Iguana iguana, is one of the most familiar lizards. It has an almost prehistoric appearance, with a crest of tooth-like scales along its back and large folds of scaly skin around its throat. Large males can sometimes grow to nearly two metres.

This magnificent lizard comes from south and Central America. Its natural home is in the forest canopy and it can often be seen among the foliage that borders rivers and streams; if it feels threatened by a predator it is not adverse to dropping into the water and swimming to safety. Its diet consists largely of vegetation, including the leaves and fruit of forest trees, but it will also occasionally eat insects and other animal matter, especially when young.  Female iguanas lay large clutches of eggs, which they bury in sand or soil; the warmth of the sun incubates the eggs and the young hatch after about 75 days.

Iguanas are becoming increasingly popular as pets.  Although the majority of those that are offered for sale are farmed under semi-captive conditions in Central America, some are still collected from the wild, a practice that should be discouraged. Even captive-farmed iguanas need a varied diet and should be kept in large cages that have been fitted with special lighting and heating equipment. Because they live for many years and can grow large, keeping iguanas is a serious commitment. Don't buy a young iguana unless you know that you will be able to give it the proper attention and housing as it grows.

Other members of the iguana family occur throughout central and South America and there are also members on several Caribbean islands and on Fiji. Many of these species have very small natural ranges and several have already become extinct, often due to the introduction of non native dogs, cats, rats and pigs on to small islands, where they dig up iguana nests and eat the eggs and young.