The most striking and important fact for us
→in regard to the inhabitants of islands, is their affinity
→to
those of the nearest mainland, without being actually the
Numerous instances could be
→I will give only one, that of the
Galapagos Archipelago, situated under the equator,
→between
500 and 600 miles from the shores of South America. Here almost every product of the land and
→water
bears the unmistakeable stamp of the American continent. There are twenty-six
→of
→are ranked by Mr. Gould
as distinct species,
→supposed
to have been
yet the close affinity of most of these birds to American species
→in
every character, in their habits, gestures, and tones of
So it is with the other animals, and with
→nearly all
the plants, as shown by Dr. Hooker in his admirable
→memoir on the
Flora of this archipelago. The naturalist, looking at the inhabitants of these volcanic islands in the Pacific, distant several hundred miles from the continent,
feels that he is standing on American land. Why should this be so? why should the species which are supposed to have been created in the Galapagos Archipelago, and nowhere else, bear so
stamp of affinity to those created in America? There is nothing in the conditions of life, in the geological nature of the islands, in their height or climate, or in the proportions in which the several classes are associated together, which
the conditions of the South American coast: in
there is a considerable dissimilarity in all
respects. On the other hand, there is a considerable degree of resemblance in the
nature of the soil, in
height, and size of the islands, between the Galapagos and Cape de Verde
but what an entire and absolute difference in their inhabitants! The inhabitants of the Cape de Verde Islands are related to
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