Jimmy Denton, age 13, Ottawa, Ont., for his question:
What are iguanas?
The iguanas have a branch of the lizard family tree all to themselves. There are a lot of them and it is sometimes hard to see any family resemblance between them. The dainty little anole of the southwestern deserts is an iguana. So is the so‑called horned toad. These little creatures look very different from the six.‑foot iguana lizards of the tropical rain forests and from the huge sea‑going iguanas who live on and off the shores of the Galapagos Islands.
Though all these big and little fellows are: cousins, the name iguana is usually reserved for the larger members of the clan. The largest of these lives in the tropical rain forests of South and Central America. He is a gaudy fellow, six feat long or more. You might mistake him for a wingless dragon. However, he does not spit smoke and flames in proper dragon fashion. In fact he is a harmless fellow, far more afraid of you than you should be of him.
The iguana's head is a vivid green, perhaps tinged with glints of blue or brown. His long, slim body is green or brown marked with darker rings around the sides and around the long tapering tail. He has a pocket of loose skin under his chin and a waxy white wart on either side of his jaw. Being a lizard, he has a scaly skin. Over most of his body, the scales are small and very neat. But doom his spine and tail he wears a ragged fringe of large, horny scales which adds to his dragon like appearance.
The long, slim toes of the iguana end in strong toenails. He uses them to hold on when he scrambles through the trees. Most lizards are rather slow creatures, but not the iguana. He is a quick and agile climber and he can travel over the marshy ground where he lives faster than you can. Ire is also an excellent swimmer and never strays far from the water.
Host of his time is spent in the great trees of the rain forests. He can climb to great heights, but he prefers to loll on a branch overhanging a river. When trouble threatens, he simply drops into the :eater and swims to safety.
The iguana feeds on flowers, buds and blossoms. His diet does not seem to be very suitable for a dragon. Nor do his strong sharp teeth seem like those of a vegetarian. They can snip off a bud or a flower as neatly as a pair of scissors. Only as a youngster does he ever eat meat, and then on1y a few insects.
Perhaps this dainty diet is what gives the flesh of the iguana its delicate flavor. For, wherever he laves, the gentle dragon is hunted for his meat. It is white end very fine in texture. People who eat it say that it tastes somewhat like frog legs. This may or may not be because of his diet. But it certainly explains why the iguana would be afraid of you. He thinks you may want him for dinner.