Green iguana: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the green iguana lives – recorded in 24 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Iguana iguana
Group	Lizards, geckos & tuatara
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	24 countries
Continents	Asia, North America, South America
Class	Reptile
Order	Squamata
Family	Iguanidae

Where does the green iguana live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the green iguana in 24 countries and territories across Asia, North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil, Barra do Garças. In Cayman Islands, Saint Martin, Peru, Sint Maarten, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Colombia
United States
Costa Rica
Mexico
French Guiana
Brazil
Panama
Ecuador
Puerto Rico
Guadeloupe
Belize
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (introduced)
Chinese Taipei
Honduras
Cayman Islands (introduced)
Aruba
Caribbean Netherlands
Saint Martin (introduced)
Peru (introduced)
Martinique
Guatemala
Curaçao
Sint Maarten (introduced)

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the green iguana endangered?

The green iguana’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the green iguana?

The green iguana (Iguana iguana) is a reptile in the order Squamata and the family Iguanidae, genus Iguana. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the green iguana

The green iguana (Iguana iguana), also known as the American iguana or the common green iguana, is a large, arboreal, mostly herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana. Usually, this animal is simply called the iguana. The green iguana ranges over a large geographic area; it is native from southern Brazil and Paraguay as far north as Mexico. It is highly invasive in many subtropical and tropical environments throughout the world.

A herbivore, it has adapted significantly with regard to locomotion and osmoregulation as a result of its diet. It grows to 1.7 m (5.6 ft) in length from head to tail, although a few specimens have grown more than 2 m (6.6 ft) with bodyweights upward of 9 kg (20 lb).

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Green iguana (revision 1373271272), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q215376 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).