Animals

The mystery of how iguanas crossed the Pacific Ocean may be solved

Iguanas floated to Fiji from North America 30 million years ago

A Fijian crested iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis) sits on a palm tree, with the ocean in the background

The ancestors of Fiji’s iguanas, such as the Fijian crested iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis, shown here), may have arrived in the islands by floating across the Pacific Ocean on vegetation over 30 million years ago.

Nicholas Hess

By Jake Buehler

Scaly sailors may have made a record-setting oceanic voyage. Tens of millions of years ago, iguanas in North America floated across the Pacific Ocean.