Marine Iguana Found in Galapagos Islands Looks Like a Real-Life Godzilla

Once you've seen them, there are some things that you can't unsee even if you try, and for many of us, it would be this video of a marine iguana found in the Galapagos. Ocean Diversity shared a video to their Instagram account on Saturday, June 8th of a marine iguana swimming underwater, and it's the stuff nightmares are made of.

The video starts with a scuba diver getting up close and personal with a very unusual ocean animal. You can see it's unique looking eyes and sharp looking teeth...not to mention it's scary looking claws! When I stumbled across the video, it actually made me do a double take when I was scrolling through my feed. The video ends with the lizard swimming off into the abyss, and I was glad to see it go!

View the original article to see embedded media.

I have gotten to scuba dive in many different oceans and have seen some amazing things, but I can tell you for certain that if I was diving and saw a marine iguana coming at me, I might never get back into the water again! I feel like this is something I'd see in a nightmare, and I'm afraid of dreaming about one now! Ocean Diversity referred to the creature as 'Mini Godzilla', and one commenter even posted a video clip of Godzilla and there's a total resemblance! Other commenters went with Creature from the Black Lagoon to describe the strange looking creature.

Related: Doodle's Proud Reaction to Catching a Huge Iguana Is Totally Epic

Interesting Facts About Marine Iguanas

Professional scuba diver and Discovery channel contributor Kenzo Kiren said in Ocean Diversity's caption, ""I’ve seen some strange things in my day, and this was definitely one of them. Marine Iguanas are the only marine lizard species in the world found only in the Galápagos Islands. They can dive as deep as 30m (98 feet) and hold their breath for 30-40 minutes. It’s believed that they evolved from a common ancestor millions of years ago after arriving on the islands by rafting."

I had so many questions about these lizards, and the first was how big they are because when the one in the video swam away, it looked huge! Raising Lizards shared that females grow up to almost 2 feet long while males can grow up to 4-1/2 feet long and can weigh up to 24 pounds. Too big for me to feel comfortable around them.

Commenter @smudgenozzy asked, "Are the dangerous to human life?" American Oceans said no, "They do not bite, carry poison, sting, or attack humans." In fact, it's the other way around - humans are dangerous to them, "Marine iguanas are currently listed as a “vulnerable” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This is due to their limited distribution and susceptibility to environmental changes, such as El Nino events that can cause food shortages and impact their survival."

It's safe to say that although there are some amazing species that live in the Galapagos, there's no way that I'll be diving there anytime soon (and by that, I mean ever!) now that I know what's lurking below the surface.

Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips.