Green iguanas

What we know

An iguana crosses the road in one of Rockstar's Leonida Keys screenshots, according to IGN's guide to the region, and IGN lists iguanas among the roughly 50 animals it has spotted in the trailers, An Extended Look and the screenshots. Rockstar itself named green iguanas to Game Informer as one of Leonida's invasive species, with cane toads, feral cats and rhesus macaques, part of a roster of more than 170.

Where to look

Our pin sits in the Leonida Keys, where Rockstar's screenshot puts one. It marks an area, not a spot: the exact place goes on the map on launch day, once we have seen iguanas in the game ourselves.

Real Florida says to look beyond the Keys as well. Florida's wildlife agency (FWC) records green iguanas along the Atlantic coast in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and Monroe counties, Monroe being the Keys, and on the Gulf coast in Collier and Lee. They live on the ground, in shrubs or up in trees, in suburbs, towns and farmland, and they swim well in both salt and fresh water. FWC adds that South Florida's man-made canals work as highways for them, and that they burrow into canal banks, seawalls and culverts.

Can you hunt or study them?

Rockstar has not said which animals count. GTA 6 has hunting that pays (GameSpot) and an animal study list you fill in as you meet new species (IGN, on the Game Informer cover story), but no species list for either has been published. FWC classes the green iguana as invasive, not protected.

Our take: after the Keys, check the canals and seawalls around Vice City. Rockstar's animal team told Game Informer it researched every species for accuracy, and in real Florida that is exactly where iguanas turn up. Treat it as a guess until launch shows where they spawn.

What to watch for at launch

• Where iguanas spawn in the game, and at what time of day.
• Whether they count toward the animal study list, or for hunting.
• Whether any iguana is a Rare or Legendary animal.