Locomotion
Iguanas in general have considerable swimming abilities, which are improved in the marine iguana. Their tails are flattened and they swim by lateral undulations of their bodies, with their limbs held to the side. Their claws are long and sharp compared to the land iguana, and allow them to cling to rocks along the shore, and resist being pulled away by heavy waves. Marine iguanas can swim around 5 miles per hour and run about 8 miles per hour on land.