Posts tagged darwin
Lonesome George, dead at 100.
The Pinta Island subspecies of the Galapagos Tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni) is now believed to be extinct.
Lonesome George lived in a large corral on the main island of Galapagos, with several females of the Espanola subspecies. George was much fonder of his fronds and sunshine than the females, though, and despite their genetic similarity (meaning that the eggs would likely be fertile), he did not mate with them.
The tortoise subspecies of the islands were second only to the finch adaptations in inspiring Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
I thought I posted about Lonesome George on Darwin Day, but alas, it appears I did not. I have a few posts on tortoises, including a photo of Harriet, a notable Galapagos tortoise who died in 2006, at age 176, but no George.
As Lonesome George was considered a fairly young adult, in terms of tortoise years, his death was unexpected, and the cause is unknown. A necropsy will take place to determine the cause, and his body will be preserved and kept at the Galapagos National Park visitor center.
![The Falkland Islands Wolf - Dusicyon culpaeus [now Dusicyon australis]
The Falkand Islands wolf was also known as the “warrah”, from the Guarani word for “fox”. It was the closest living relative to the maned wolf, an unusual-looking long-legged canid endemic to South America.
The Falkland Islands are geographically Argentinian, but were colonized by the British in the late 18th century. The military conflicts regarding the islands aside, British settlers introduced sheep very early on in the colonization, and have kept sheep on the islands ever since.
The colonists on the Falklands feared the wolves would eat their sheep, and poisoned or slaughtered large numbers of them every year. The fearless nature of this top carnivore was a major factor in its ultimate extinction. Even in the last days of their existence, they had no fear of man, and could be baited with nothing more than a chunk of meat held in an outstretched hand. The species was declared extinct in 1876.
Interesting side-note: The Latin name for the species means “foolish wolf of the south”.
The Zoology of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle: Mammalia, part 2. Charles Darwin, 1838.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4ndmsfm0Y1qk931ho1_400.jpg)
The Falkland Islands Wolf - Dusicyon culpaeus [now Dusicyon australis]
The Falkand Islands wolf was also known as the “warrah”, from the Guarani word for “fox”. It was the closest living relative to the maned wolf, an unusual-looking long-legged canid endemic to South America.
The Falkland Islands are geographically Argentinian, but were colonized by the British in the late 18th century. The military conflicts regarding the islands aside, British settlers introduced sheep very early on in the colonization, and have kept sheep on the islands ever since.
The colonists on the Falklands feared the wolves would eat their sheep, and poisoned or slaughtered large numbers of them every year. The fearless nature of this top carnivore was a major factor in its ultimate extinction. Even in the last days of their existence, they had no fear of man, and could be baited with nothing more than a chunk of meat held in an outstretched hand. The species was declared extinct in 1876.
Interesting side-note: The Latin name for the species means “foolish wolf of the south”.
The Zoology of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle: Mammalia, part 2. Charles Darwin, 1838.
Today in History - April 19
Downe, Kent, England, 1888
On April 19, 1888, Charles Robert Darwin passed away at Down House, in Downe, Kent, at age 73. He was active in the natural history community to his last, and was buried with great pomp and ceremony in Westminster Abbey, next to Isaac Newton and John Herschel.
Though his earlier works were clearly influential, one of his most accurate and long-standing books was his last - The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Earthworms. In fact, his observations on the anatomy and function of earthworms were so thorough that the species he covered in his book have largely been ignored in basic research until recently, when the concept and ability to test for “gut flora” (bacteria in the digestive system) arose in the early 2000s.
And to you!
fun fact: One of the tortoises that Darwin collected on his voyages lived to be 176 years old. She died just a few years ago, in 2006. Her name was Harriet.
Darwin’s Most Influential Works
Though Charles Darwin’s works on the function of earthworms, soil fertility, and phototropism had far more of an initial impact (and are still used to this day as a basis of our knowledge of certain plant and Annelid behaviors), these three books have had a much more far-reaching impact, and helped steer biology to a place where evolution plays a role in nearly every sub-specialty.
On the Origin of Species. Charles Darwin, 1859.
The Voyage Of the HMS Beagle. Originally published as Journal and Remarks. Charles Darwin, 1839.
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Charles Darwin, 1871.
Origin Of Species - Chapter 5 : Laws Of Variation
If you’ve never read “On the Origin of Species,” you should at least listen to this video series whilst going about your other activities! It gives a very solid and interesting foundation to evolution, and even if you understand the basic tenets of the theory, hearing the words of the most important progenitor of the field gives so much insight!
Charles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, 1872.
It’s a bird sort of day.
You call it lazy, I call it a celebration of the inspirational husband/wife team of John and Elizabeth Gould.
Even though Elizabeth died before her husband did his work on mammals and before his works were mentioned by Darwin, she was a major part of John Gould’s observations and research. Over 600 of the lithographs in John Gould’s work were Elizabeth’s art, including the newly-classified (by her husband) finches that Charles Darwin gave to the Goulds for classification input, and later used to both develop his theory of natural selection and illustrate his concepts in On the Origin of Species. Even though John Gould is mentioned as a direct influence by Darwin and Elizabeth was not (subsequently allowing her work to be almost completely eclipsed by her husband’s), his wife’s work was still important, lovely, and generated a lot of public interest in birds both domestic and foreign.
Edward Lear did the mammalian lithographs and a few bird lithographs (the post-1841 works), but all of the pre-1841 birds (the majority of them) were Elizabeth’s work.
So yeah. Birds today. And keep Elizabeth’s hard and skilled work in mind. She did all this in the middle of taking care of 8 children (she had no nanny while in Australia with her 4 oldest children, who were quite young at the time). She was one awesome possum.
John Gould, 1840
Elizabeth Gould with Australian cockatiel, memorial oil painting, produced shortly after her death
A blog for all biological and medical ephemera, from the age of Abraham through the era of medical quackery and cure-all nostrums. Featuring illustrations, history, and totally useless trivia from the diverse realms of nature and medicine.
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