A long distance voyager

As some of you know, in the dim and distant past I used to be a biologist at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. This is a painting of the banded Fijian iguana, one of the most intriguing animals to be found in the Fijis.

The Fijian islands are largely volcanic  and situated at a great distance from the continents. All the animals living on the islands are the descendants of individuals who once arrived from a continent, either by flying, swimming or rafting on vegetation. Almost all of the Fijian animals and plants arrived from Asia in the west, carried by the prevailing winds and sea currents. However, the iguana is related to iguanas in South America; just how it got to Fiji out in the middle of the Pacific, and against the currents and winds is a bit of a mystery, to put it mildly!