Four living species
Plus one giant Tongan species known only from fossils. Each island population is effectively isolated.
Native to Fiji. One species was introduced to Tonga. They do not swim between islands.
Mostly leaves, fruit and flowers of native forest trees. They are arboreal herbivores.
All species are listed on CITES Appendix I. They are not pets, and international commercial trade is banned.
They are a biogeographic puzzle and a flagship for Fiji’s remaining native forest.
An ocean away from every other iguana
Iguanas as a family are an American story — from the Galápagos to the Caribbean. Brachylophus is the exception. The lineage split from other iguanids around 35 million years ago, and somehow ended up in the Fiji–Tonga region.
The explanation most biologists now favour is rafting: ancestors riding vegetation west on the South Equatorial Current. A lost Old-World iguana lineage has also been proposed, but no fossils of that lineage have turned up in Asia or Australia.
Questions people actually ask
What does the name Brachylophus mean?
From Greek brachys (short) and lophos (crest). These iguanas have a row of short spines along the back, not the tall crest of some New World iguanas.
Are Fiji iguanas endangered?
Yes. The Fiji crested iguana is Critically Endangered. The three banded species are Endangered. Habitat loss and introduced predators (cats, rats, mongoose) are the main drivers.
Can you keep a Brachylophus as a pet?
No. They are protected under CITES Appendix I. Wild capture and commercial international trade are prohibited. Captive animals belong in conservation breeding programmes, not the pet trade.