Whence
Galápagos giant tortoise
Animal

Where does Galápagos giant tortoise come from?

Galápagos giant tortoises come from the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador, which are named after them. They are the largest living tortoises, the heaviest weighing over 400 kg, and in 1835 their differences from island to island set Charles Darwin thinking.

Islands named for tortoises

The Spanish discoverer of the islands, Tomás de Berlanga, wrote in 1535 of 'such big tortoises that each could carry a man on top of himself.' On maps from around 1570 the archipelago appears as the 'Insulae de los Galopegos', the Islands of the Tortoises, from Spanish galápago. The tortoises' ancestors came from mainland South America; their closest living relative is the much smaller Chaco tortoise. They probably drifted there on ocean currents, buoyant and able to go months without food or fresh water.

Domes, saddles and Darwin

On humid islands with plenty of low plants, the tortoises are larger, with domed shells and short necks. On dry islands they are smaller, with saddle-shaped shells that let them stretch their long necks up to cactus pads. Darwin spent five weeks in the islands in 1835, and the Vice-Governor, Mr Lawson, told him he could tell which island any tortoise came from. Darwin later admitted that at first he paid too little attention to this, and that he had already partly mixed together his collections from two of the islands.

Giants in danger

Tortoises can survive a long time without food or water, so pirates, whalers and fur sealers stacked them alive in their ships' holds as fresh meat, and their oil lit the lamps of Quito. With rats, goats and pigs brought by people, numbers fell from over 250,000 in the 16th century to around 15,000 by the 1970s. Breeding programmes at the Charles Darwin Research Station have since restored several populations, but Lonesome George, the last known tortoise from Pinta Island, died in 2012.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org ↗ · galapagos.org ↗

More Animals

Blue heeler (Australian Cattle Dog)
Animal

Blue heeler (Australian Cattle Dog)

📍 Hunter Valley & Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

The blue heeler was bred in New South Wales: in the 1800s Thomas Hall crossed collies with dingoes in the Hunter Valley, and Sydney breeders later refined the dogs. 'Heeler' comes from its knack for moving stubborn cattle by nipping at their heels.

Guppy
Animal

Guppy

📍 Northeastern South America & Trinidad

Guppies come from the streams of northeastern South America and nearby islands like Trinidad. They're named after Robert Guppy, who sent specimens from Trinidad to London, and were later released worldwide to eat mosquito larvae.

Australian Shepherd (dog breed)
Animal

Australian Shepherd (dog breed)

📍 Western USA (California to the Rockies)

Despite its name, the Aussie was developed by ranchers in the western United States in the 1800s, probably named after collies that came with sheep from Australia. A rodeo performer's trick dogs made it famous in the mid-1900s.

More from South America

Caballito de totora (reed fishing boat)
Invention

Caballito de totora (reed fishing boat)

📍 North coast of Peru (Huanchaco to Pimentel)

Fishermen on Peru's north coast have used caballitos de totora, 'little reed horses', for about 3,000 years. They sit astride the bundled reeds, paddle out through the surf to fish, then ride the waves back to the beach.

Fileteado (sign painting)
Invention

Fileteado (sign painting)

📍 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fileteado, swirling scrolls, flowers and bright fancy lettering, began in Buenos Aires in the late 1800s on the horse-drawn carts that delivered milk, bread and fruit. Italian immigrants shaped the style, and UNESCO listed it in 2015.

Açaí
Food

Açaí

📍 Amazon river mouth, Pará, Brazil

Açaí berries grow on a palm of the eastern Amazon, and families near the river's mouth in Pará, Brazil, have eaten them for centuries. Pará still produces about 90% of Brazil's açaí.