March 30, 2017
The Galapagos giant tortoise is one of the most famous animals of the Islands; with the Archipelago itself being named after them (Galapágo is an old Spanish word for tortoise). Scientists believe the first tortoises arrived in Galapagos 2–3 million years ago by drifting 1,000 kilometres from the South American coast on vegetation rafts, where read more
February 23, 2017
What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions the Galapagos Islands? Marine iguanas, giant tortoises or even the blue-footed booby? You probably weren’t thinking of the snails? Most people wouldn’t as these little creatures are some of the least known terrestrial species in the Galapagos Islands. However the land snail population read more
March 27, 2015
In the last blog we learnt about one unique environment of the Galapagos: deep water vents; where life has managed to evolve in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. If you missed it, you can check it out at Special Archipelago Part 1: Deep Water Vents. In this second blog of the Special read more
March 2, 2015
Those lucky enough to have visited the Galapagos Islands will tell you it is a unique place. The new Discovering Galapagos chapter entitled “A Special Archipelago” teaches us what exactly makes the Galapagos Islands so unique. From their location, thousands of kilometres from the nearest land, to their mild climate and from their dramatic formation read more
November 24, 2014
Scalesia is a genus of 15 species of shrubs and trees endemic to Galapagos. Some of these species are widely distributed whereas others are only found on specific Islands. Scalesia are mostly shrubs which grow within the arid and transition zones. However there are three tree species which form dense forests in the humid highlands. read more
