Description
Sexually dimorphic, males have two or three white or pale-blue bands 2 centimetres (0.79 in) wide crossing their emerald green background with a pattern of spots and stripes on the nuchal region. Females, on the other hand, are solid green with occasional spotting or partial bands. Both sexes have a yellow underside. Fiji banded iguanas reach 60 centimetres (24 in) in length when measured from snout to tail tip and bodyweights of up to 200 grams (0.44 lb). The crests of these iguanas are very short reaching a length of 0.5 centimetres (0.20 in).
Although there appear to be slight variations between insular populations, none have been well-described. The animals from Tonga are smaller and leaner, and were previously described as B. brevicephalus.
The skin of this species is sensitive to light and the lizard can change its skin color to match its background. Captive specimens have been observed matching the pattern left by the screen tops of their cages in as little as 30 seconds.
Read more about this topic: Fiji Banded Iguana
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“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)