Santa Fe land iguana

Appearance

The Santa Fe land iguana is similar in every detail to the Galapagos land iguana except that the Santa Fe land iguana is paler yellow in color with a longer more tapered snout and more pronounced dorsal spines.

The Santa Fe land iguana grows to a total length of 3 ft with a body weight of up to 25 lb . Being cold-blooded, they absorb heat from the sun basking on volcanic rock and at night sleep in burrows to conserve their body heat. These iguanas also enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the island's finches; the birds remove parasites and ticks providing relief to the iguana and food for the birds.

Naming

Its generic name, ''Conolophus'', is derived from two Greek words: ''conos'' meaning "spiny" and ''lophos'' meaning "crest" or "plume", denoting the spiny crest along its back. Its specific name, ''pallidus'', is Latin for "pale", denoting its lighter coloration than ''C. subcristatus''.

Food

Santa Fe land iguanas are primarily herbivorous, however some individuals have shown that they are opportunistic carnivores supplementing their diet with insects, centipedes and carrion.
Because fresh water is scarce on the islands they inhabit, land iguanas obtain the majority of their moisture from the prickly-pear cactus that makes up 80% of its diet: fruit, flowers, pads, and even spines. During the rainy season they will drink from available standing pools of water and feast on yellow flowers of the genus ''Portulaca''.