The Galapagos Islands are famous for their distinctive botanical life and for their vast number of native specimens found nowhere else in the world. Keep reading this article to learn all about the wonderful galapagos flora, as well as its types of animals, the characteristics and areas of this island and much more.
This archipelago is home to a complex ecosystem with a fascinating geological history, as well as unique examples of plant and animal life. The flora and fauna of ecuador they prompted the renowned scientist and biologist Charles Darwin to formulate his hypothesis of evolution and thousands of tourists and scientists flock to the islands each year to further study the wildlife.
The islands emerged from the bottom of the sea in the form of amazing volcanic upheavals. In total, the archipelago consists of 19 islands and dozens of islets and rocks that dot a vast area of 45,000 kilometers of sea extension. Thanks to the lack of natural predators, wildlife in this insular region or galapagos it is not afraid of humans, which makes the islands one of the world's greatest wonders and an incredibly magical destination to visit.
What are the characteristics of the Galapagos Islands?
They are part of the country of Ecuador and are situated on the Pacific Ocean. Located more than 1000 km from the South American mainland (officially called Archipiélago de Colón) they are a dynamic region in constant change with volcanic eruptions, the formation of new lava fields and the erosion and expansion of islands. These islands are located 600 miles from the Ecuadorian coast, made up of 61 islands and islets with 19 main islands.
Looking like shadows on the ocean, the main islands are:
- Marchene.
- Pinta.
- Finch.
- Baltra.
- San Cristobal.
- Holy Cross.
- Florean.
- Genoese.
- Isabella.
- Santa Fe.
- Spanish.
- Fernandina.
- Santiago.
In total land area, the islands cover 7880 square kilometers and in total geographic area from Darwin Island to San Cristóbal and Española, 45,000 square kilometers.
The largest island is Isabela, with 4855 square kilometers and although it represents about half of the land area of this archipelago, it is still less than half the size of the island of Hawaii. Its largest volcano, Wolf Volcano, has a maximum altitude of 5600 feet, making it the highest point in the archipelago.
Although they are within the tropics, these islands do not have lush rainforests. The islands lie in the path of three major intersecting ocean currents: the Peru Current brings cold waters from Antarctica; the Panama Current is warmer and comes from the north, and the Cromwell Current brings cold, deep water to the surface. The cooler waters keep the climate moderate and dry.
The islands experience two seasons each year. The dry season is from July to December, when temperatures average around 21 degrees Celsius and rainfall averages a little over a centimeter each month.
During the dry season, fog is typically found at higher elevations, but there is little precipitation. The hot season is from January to June, when temperatures range from 25 to 35 degrees Celsius and rainfall reaches a little more than 2,5 centimeters per month. March and April are typically the wettest months receiving 4 to 5 cm of precipitation, with much of the deluge draining through volcanic rock and soil.
Galapagos Islands Areas
There are three main areas of vegetation in this archipelago: coastal highlands, arid and humid.
coastal area
This area follows the shores of the islands and the mangrove trees that grow there provide shelter and breeding grounds for many birds, iguanas, sea lions and turtles. Tree roots provide a protected habitat for marine life such as barnacles, mollusks and small fish. Other plants that grow in this area include the salt bush and the beach bell.
arid area
This is the largest area of the islands and contains many plants typically found in deserts, such as cacti, succulents, and leafless shrubs. This area ranges from near the coast to about 200 feet (60 m) in elevation.
Transition area
This area is between the previous area and the humid highlands. It has characteristics of both arid and humid areas, with dense vegetation subdued by small orchards and bushes with various types of ferns.
The Galapagos Islands are islands with volcanoes located on the Nazca Plate, which flows east-southeast, towards South American lands. The meeting of the two tectonic plates has caused an oceanic plate to be depressed under another plate. As the Nazca plate slides under the South American plate. As a result, the Cordillera de los Andes was created.
When all this plate passed over the burning area of the archipelago, a place where lava breaks through the crust, the volcanoes erupted and, finally, the Islands of this entire archipelago were formed.
Galapagos flora
When most people think of the Galapagos Islands, they understandably envision its remarkable and iconic animal life; huge heavy turtles, prehistoric-looking marine iguanas, the graceful blue-footed boobies among others. But the Galapagos plant life is no less intriguing and obviously a critically important element in the unique ecosystems of the islands.
The Galapagos Islands are world renowned for their incredible wildlife and geological history. However, little is known about the flora of the region. Although the plant life of the insular region or galapagos is as rare and wide as animal life, it has received far less exposure and attention. The flora of the islands is spectacular in every way.
endemic species
Approximately 700 plants are native to these islands and at least 35% of them are endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. There is a great variety of plants that can be seen in said archipelago depending on the area that is attended. Listed below are some of the more prominent genres and the areas where you're most likely to find them.
- Pega pega
It is a large tree from Santa Cruz Island that can grow up to 17 meters high. Its name "Pega Pega" is due to the fact that its fruits are sticky, a characteristic that helps birds to disperse their seeds. Its flowers are cluster-shaped and difficult to see.
- floreana flax
Originally known from two craters on Floreana Island. The population consists of between 60 and 450 plants, fluctuating from year to year. Threat factors are not well understood but include damage from goats and invasion by Lantana camara. A part of the area is protected by a fence, but from time to time the goats manage to enter.
- Darwin's Cotton
A messy bush with hand-shaped leaves on reddish stems. The large yellow flowers with blood-red spots in the center are similar to a hibiscus and are present throughout the year. The fruits are covered with a cottony fluff.
It can be found on several of the islands that make up this archipelago. This group can measure up to 5 meters in height. Its flowers are bright purple and yellow. Its cotton is used by birds to build their nests, the same one that emerges when its seeds are opened.
- Galapagos Tomato
They have small orange and yellow fruits that you can find growing in some truly inhospitable places, including sun-kissed lava fields and along salty shorelines. Their exceptional hardiness has made them a valuable plant for tomato growers, who use them to improve salt and drought tolerance in cultivated species.
It has branches with a great variety of short bristles, easy to find in gardens located in arid, metamorphosis and scalesia areas of the Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal islands.
- prickly pear cactus
It is the largest and most numerous plant found in the Archipelago and is a great example of adaptive emission. It has several incomparable species in Galapagos. Galapagos cacti are divided into fourteen varieties and are found mainly in arid areas near the coast.
This species is an example of accommodation of a plant species, since it has given rise to six species that, in turn, are divided into 15 subspecies. Two very characteristic things about this plant are its stem full of thorns and its peculiarity that its flowers turn from amber to orange-red in the form of a thorn to protect its fruit.
- Lava Cacti
This is considered a "pioneer" or colonizer plant. Featuring bright yellow tip colors and microphone shapes. The plant has soft, hairy spines and grows in clumps to a height of about two feet (60 cm). It is yellow, turning brown, darkening to gray with age. The flowers are white, but they last only a few hours. Lava cacti can be found on Fernandina, Genovesa, Isabela, Pinta, Santiago, and Bartholomew Islands.
- Scalesia Santiago
It is well adapted to a tropical but harsh climate; It is the means of resistance for many sea species such as blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds and the survival of the galapagos animals land such as finches, other birds, land lizards, bugs, giant tortoises, among others.
- Darwin's fine-leaved shrub
This shrub can be found throughout the beautiful archipelago, from humid highlands to lava fields. It can reach up to 4 meters in height, its leaves are dense and alternate. Something very characteristic of this shrub is the pleasant smell that its leaves and flowers give off when crushed. Its flowers are located at the tips of the branches.
- Guayabillo or guaba
It is a tree that can reach 12 meters in height. Its fruit is round and changes color when ripe (from yellow to black). Its flowers are white, small and elliptical leaves. It can be found on most of the islands that make up the archipelago.
- Cat's claw
It is a medicinal plant that can be found in humid forests. It has an amber flower and a stem with stingers that allow it to embed itself in other trees.
introduced species
There are an estimated 900 introduced species, some of which are incredibly entrenched, meaning they can quickly intrude into the environment and cause harm to native plants and animals. These include quinine, guava, and blackberry. Some of the invasive species, such as the tropical kudzu, have been successfully eradicated.
Galapagos fauna
It is well adapted to a tropical but harsh climate; it is the means of resistance for many marine species such as blue-footed boobies, sea rays and the survival of the galapagos animals terrestrial as the birds of the naturalist Darwin, other birds, terrestrial lizards, bugs, giant tortoises, among others.
Endemic mammals of the Galapagos Islands
Very few species of mammals are native to the Galapagos Islands, among them are:
- Sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki)
- Sea lions (Arctocephalus galapagoensis)
- Four species of rice rats (Nesoryzomys narboroughii, Oryzomys bauri, Nesoryzomys moreno)
- Bats (Lasiurus cinereus and Lasiurus brachyotis).
- Dolphins and whales also visit the islands.
The sea lion is the largest animal on the islands, with males weighing up to 260kg. They are often found lounging on docks and beaches. Sea lions tend to gather in harems consisting of a dominant male and several females, or in bachelor colonies. The sea lions of the insular region or galapagos, which are actually a type of sea lion, prefer rockier, shady beaches when they're not swimming.
By the early 1900s, sea lions were hunted and harassed almost to the point of extinction, all thanks to their considered insulating fur. Today's groups have made a dramatic comeback with numbers similar to those of the sea lions.
Birds of the Galapagos Islands
30 specimens of flightless birds they live on the islands where 25 of them are groups of the archipelago itself and five are endemic subspecies. 14 of the endemic specimens are varieties of Darwin's finches and four are groups of nightingales. Eight of the 25 endemic specimens are considered vulnerable or higher. Two, the mangrove finch and floreana nightingale, are critically endangered. Darwin's finches make up the largest population group on the islands.
Each of the individual species, as noted by the natural scientist, has a particular beak shape and size based on their food consumption. Diets range from seeds, flowers, and buds to vermin, including lice from turtles and iguanas, as well as the blood of seabirds. This scientist's study of the differences between finches helped him develop the theories of natural selection and evolution. There are six endemic species of seabirds:
- The lava gull (Leucophaeus fuliginosus).
- The swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus).
- The flightless cormorant (Phalacrocorax harrisi).
- The Galapagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia).
- The Galapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus).
- The wavy albatross (Phoebastria irrorata), the largest of the birds.
Additional species that call these wonderful islands home include three species of boobies, great and magnificent frigatebirds, and red-billed, warm-weather birds.
The Galapagos penguin is the only bird of this group that lives in this area of the American continent. The vast majority of the 2.000 penguins live distributed on several of the islands of the archipelago. This bird is included in the Specimen Risk List of the World Alliance for Ecosystem Preservation, due to its small population size, which fluctuates over the years, partly thanks to the well-known El Niño phenomenon.
According to a 2015 article in the magazine Biological Conservation, the numbers may continue to drop due to increased El Niño events, which cause a drastic decrease in food supply at the beginning of the breeding season, when the penguins stock up on as much food as they can.
Reptiles that only inhabit the Galapagos Islands
The galapagos animals The terrestrial species of these islands are dominated by reptiles, while most of the world finds mammals to be the predominant species. Unlike mammals, reptiles can survive long periods without water, equipping them with the ability to make the epic 700-mile journey to volcanic islands from the mainland. whether they are galapagos tortoises giants, iguanas, snakes and lizards - visitors to the islands will have many opportunities to discover these unique creatures.
Even the islands were named after one of its famous reptile species, the giant tortoise. Today, the giant tortoise has become something of a mascot for the islands. A trip to the Islands of this archipelago offers incredible opportunities to observe wildlife. The following table simply offers a sampling of the reptiles found on the Islands.
Galapagos giant tortoise
The estimated population is approximately 12,000. There are ten subspecies of these reptiles in nature. The eleventh species has one remaining survivor, Lonesome George, who resides at the research base established in the archipelago.
Galapagos Green Turtle
The only turtle that breeds on the islands. Nesting occurs between the months of December and June. Best seen in shallow lagoons around islands.
Marine iguana
The only maritime lizard in the world. They can stay underwater for up to 15 minutes, but are usually basking on lava rocks. 8 specimens of marine iguanas, which vary in size and color.
land iguana
They are yellowish in color. Its average life expectancy of 55 years, but the population has been threatened by the introduction of cats, dogs and rats.
Santa Fe land iguana
Similar to previous specimen, but males are much more radiant yellow. As its name indicates, it is only found on Santa Fe Island.
lava lizard
All the main islands are home to at least 7 groups of lava lizards. They are smaller than iguanas and larger than geckos. Males are larger (up to a foot long) than females and have more patterning and rougher skin.
Galapagos Leaf Toed Gecko
They are pale with dark brown flecks. It is nocturnal and feeds primarily on bugs.
spanish snake
It is not a poisonous specimen and it is a constrictor snake. The only snake found on the island that bears his name.
Galapagos banded snake
Non-venomous, it is also a constricting snake. Their bands are distinguished from other snakes on the islands. The body is cream colored, with dark brown bands.
Galapagos striped snake
Studied and is therefore non-toxic and like the previous specimens it is a constricting snake. Dark brown with two yellow stripes on the sides, running through the entire body of the snake.
Fish that only live in the Galapagos
Among the large populations of marine life that live in the waters around the archipelago, approximately 21% of the specimens are permanent, according to studies that have been carried out. And about 600 groups of fish have been recognized in the protected waters around the islands as of 2018, according to the research base; at least 80 species are endemic and another 470 are natural (native to the islands but also found elsewhere).
Of these specimens, almost 35 are sharks, including the whale shark, the largest fish in the world, which reaches up to 15 meters and weighs up to 1000 kilograms. There are also various types of rays (as the specimen is up to 7 meters wide) and many specimens of tropical fish, according to the studies of the research bases.
