Angel Island chuckwalla

The Angel Island chuckwalla, Sauromalus hispidus, also called the spiny chuckwalla, is a large lizard of the family Iguanidae that is native to Isla Angel de la Guarda in the Gulf of California and ten smaller islands nearby. It is the second-largest chuckwalla, reaching about 44 centimetres in body length and 64 centimetres overall, and weighing up to 1.4 kilograms, which makes it two to three times the size of its mainland relatives. The body is dark brown with black cross bands that fade to a uniform dark brown or black with age. It is mainly herbivorous, feeding on creosote bush, cholla cacti, leaves, fruit and flowers, and it favours lava flows and rocky ground where it can wedge itself into crevices when threatened. Active in the day, it basks in the mornings and tolerates temperatures up to about 39 degrees Celsius. The Seri people carried it to other islands as an emergency food source, and individuals may live 25 years or more.