Abstract:
From 1835 to 1935, the Galapagos peculiar geology and life inspired a diversity of theories. To some like Charles Darwin and Theodor Wolf, the primitive volcanic appearance of the islands pointed out to a new world where species of animals and plants derived from South American ancestors. Others, like Georges Baur, saw the prehistoric landscape and inhabitants of the Galapagos to be remnants of life from another era that survived without the depredation of carnivorous animals, especially man. The proposed mechanisms of transmutation were also varied. Some followed Darwin and Alfred Wallace’s idea of natural selection, while others talked more of plasticity of the young somewhat like Lamarck. And there were those to whom the Galapagos prehistoric-looking saurians were proof that species didn’t vary over time. Finally, in commemoration of the centennial of Darwin’s visit to the Galapagos, Ecuadorian and International scientists promoted the conservation of the islands mentioning them as the origin of On the Origin of Species.
