# Red crab clings to marine iguana’s neck in Galápagos grooming encounter

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/sight-of-the-iguana-lizard-cuts-a-dash-and-strikes-a-pose-while-wearing-a-wandering-crab-like-a-bowtie/
- Published: 2026-10-24T00:56:05+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-24T01:07:15+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16234735/Sight-iguana-Lizard-cuts-dash-strikes-pose-wearing-wandering-crab-like-bowtie.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- A red crab appeared to be an iguana’s bowtie.
- Photographer Dale Morris spotted the scene on Fernandina Island.
- The crabs clean iguanas’ scales and feed as they do so.

## Summary

Wildlife photographer Dale Morris captured a marine iguana on Fernandina Island in the Galápagos with a bright red Sally Lightfoot crab clinging to its neck, making it look as though the lizard was wearing a bowtie. The unusual-looking encounter reflects a practical relationship between the animals rather than a conflict.

Morris also photographed three crabs on an iguana as a wave washed over them. Marine iguanas, found only in the Galápagos, feed on seaweed; Sally Lightfoot crabs scavenge around the islands and help clean the reptiles’ scales, gaining food while the iguanas receive a kind of natural grooming.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.