Animals of the Galapagos
One of the reasons that animals are free to evolve and become unique on the islands, is because there are no big predators. Below is just a few of the many unique or seasonal animals that live, breed and feed on the Galapagos.
Galapagos Tortoise
Marine Iguana
Blue Footed Boobie
The blue footed boobies' most impressive feature is, you guessed it, its blue feet. They nest in the Galapagos islands though not all year round. The female chooses a mate by watching the males strut around showing off their feet. The name "boobies" is thought to have come from the spanish name bobo, which means stupid.
The boobies can dive into the sea at ninety six kph. This would kill most birds but the boobies have special air sacks on their head to cushion the impact. The Boobies nest on land at in and go fishing in the day, diving into the water to catch small fish. Another purpose for having massive blue feet is that they are good for protecting young from the cold. |
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are microscopic plankton. They get carried to the Galapagos through the undersea currents. They like to hang around because there is a high deposit of iron, which they like to eat. By doing this, (eating iron) the Phytoplankton bring iron and nutriments to the surface. This in turn helps costal trees grow and makes a home for small fish and corals. Bigger fish like whale sharks as well as birds can then have something to eat, so spreading more seeds and more foood. In a small way, Phytoplankton are the life source of the Galapagos.
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Waved Albatross
The waved albatross is unique to the Galapagos Islands. They are easy to distinguish as they have a waved pattern on their fronts. During nesting season they stay on the Galapagos islands, but when they are not they will hunt for fish in Ecuadorian waters. hey are not often seen out of South America. The Waved Albatross has a peculiar mating dance which involves a lot of beak clacking and head waving. Below is what it looks like.
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Red-Lipped Batfish
The Red-lipped Bat fish is found no where else but in the Galapagos waters. It is a very strange fish, tending to walk on its modified fins. It has red lips that stand out quite a lot, making it look like a fish with lipstick. At the top of its head it has a spike that lures out its prey, small fish and crustaceans.
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Galapagos penguin
The Galapagos Penguin came to the Galapagos all the way from the Antarctic. In fact the penguins are related to another sort of penguin, the Emperor Penguin. The emperor penguin stands at one and a half meters tall, while the Galapagos penguin is only half a meter. The Galapagos penguin looks nothing like the Emperor penguin from which they descend. The Galapagos penguin has a habit of lying on its stomach to keep its feet from getting burnt. Most of this species lives on the island Fernandina, but they are still scattered around the archipelago.
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Galapagos Sealion
Galapagos sea lions are slightly smaller than their relative in California. They prefer the sandy beaches of some of the older islands to the lava plains of Fernandina, though they can be found on each of the islands, and are even sometimes spotted along the coast of main land Ecuador. A big Sea lion can grow up to two meters long. The sea lions are very social and will let you go up close, the males have a barking call. The one great annoyance in their life is the flies. They get help in that subject from lava lizards, that they allow to play around them eating the flies.
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Galapagos Comorants
the Galapagos Cormrant is sometimes called the flightless cormorant. Cormorants are generally costal birds, preffering to stay over the beaches or costal areas of land. So how did they get to the Galapagos. Again it was with the help of one of the trade winds that meet at the Galapagos. A comorant or cormorants must have got caught in one of the winds and was blown to the Galapagos. There the Galapagos Cormorant evolved, and now it has no wings. All they have are tiny wing stumps. The Cormorant could have evolved this way because there are hardly any land predators on the Galapagos. Though the Flightless cormorant can no longer fly it is the biggest cormorant any where in the world.
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Lava Heron
Carpenter bee
The Carpenter bee was one of the first pollinators on the Galapagos Islands. Suitably most plants on the island have yellow and white flowers, which are the colours that the carpenter bee likes best. The male has no stinger, but the female does, though it is considered shy. The bee first came to the island as a larva concealed in a piece of driftwood.
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Lava Lizard
There are seven species of the Galapagos lava lizard; they will all drop their tales like many skinks. The male lizard is bigger and will fight over territory. The different species of lizard have different sign languages. The language is made up of bobs. The lizards will do a series of push-ups to talk to each other. The lava lizard loves to eat flies. They will work with the Galapagos sea lions. They eat the flies so that the sea lions get peace. That is why you can often see lava lizards sitting on top of Sea lions.
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Frigate Bird
The Magnificent Frigatebird is also not unique to the Galapagos Islands, though it is impressive. The Frigate birds nest on the Galapagos islands and the male has a pouch at the front of it's neck that it can inflate. An interesting fact is that Frigate birds never land on water. They will only catch fish on the fly.
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Sally Lightfoot Crab
The Sallly light foot crab is definatley not unique to the Galapagos, but it's bright colours mean it is a popular critter there. It is food for many birds in the Galapagos so it plays its own part in the ecosystem of the Galapagos. The older crabs on the island have too tough a shell for most birds to crack, but the younger crabs are not so safe. But they have a different defence, camouflage. The older crabs have a brightly coloured shell, but the young ones have a grey-black one, to blend into the lava plains. It's scientific name is Grapus Grapus, which I think is pretty crazy.
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