 The green iguana and its relative the black iguana "(Ctenosaura similis)" have been used as a food source in Central and South America for the past 7,000 years.It is possible that some of the populations in the Caribbean were translocated there from the mainland by various tribes as a food source.In Central and South America, green iguanas are still used as a source of meat and are often referred to as "gallina de palo" ("bamboo chicken" or "chicken of the trees"), because they are said to taste like chicken.