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[waves splashing]
- BOTH THE MARINE AND LAND IGUANAS OF GALAPAGOS
RESEMBLE LAND IGUANAS
FOUND ON THE SOUTH AMERICAN MAINLAND,
ABOUT 600 MILES TO THE EAST.
NO DOUBT IT WAS A FREAK ACCIDENT THAT DELIVERED THEM FIRST
TO THE NEWLY FORMED VOLCANIC ISLANDS OF GALAPAGOS.
THEREAFTER, THE FACT THAT THERE WERE
SEVERAL DIFFERENT ISLANDS IN THE ARCHIPELAGO
ENABLED THEM TO DIVERGE.
THE MARINE IGUANA, WHICH IS FOUND NOWHERE BUT ON GALAPAGOS,
PRESUMABLY EVOLVED ON ONE ISLAND ONLY AT FIRST
THEN LATER SPREAD TO THE OTHER ISLANDS,
WHERE THEY DIVERGED INTO ALL THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES
THAT ARE NOW FOUND.
THIS IS A LAND IGUANA.
IT WAS LAND IGUANAS THAT FIRST COLONIZED
THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
AND THEN EVOLVED SEPARATELY
INTO THE MODERN LAND IGUANAS HERE
AND THE MARINE IGUANAS ON THE SEPARATE ISLANDS.
THE ORIGINAL COLONIZERS WOULD HAVE BEEN LAND IGUANAS
THAT FLOATED ACROSS PROBABLY
ON MAYBE A FALLEN TREE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT
PERHAPS IN A HURRICANE.
THIS HAS BEEN KNOWN TO HAPPEN IN THE WEST INDIES.
IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN RECORDED:
FALLEN TREES IN A VERY, VERY HIGH WIND
BLOWN ACROSS FROM ONE ISLAND TO ANOTHER
BEARING A GREAT LOAD OF IGUANAS,
WHICH THEN IMMEDIATELY--
AS SOON AS THE TREE IS BLOWN ASHORE--
RUSH OUT AND START TO COLONIZE THE NEW ISLAND.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN SEEN TO HAPPEN
ON ANOTHER SPECIES IN ANOTHER PLACE,
BUT IT'S PRETTY CLEAR THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT
IS WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HERE.
IF SPECIES WERE INDIVIDUALLY CREATED
TO FIT THEIR ENVIRONMENT,
WE SHOULD EXPECT ISLANDS AND CONTINENTS
TO HAVE THE SAME ANIMALS AND PLANTS
AS SIMILAR ISLANDS AND CONTINENTS
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD,
BUT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE DO NOT FIND.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMAL AND PLANT SPECIES
OVER THE ISLANDS AND CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD
FOLLOWS EXACTLY THE PATTERN WE SHOULD EXPECT
IF THEY HAVE EVOLVED
AND EXACTLY THE PATTERN WE SHOULD NOT EXPECT
IF THEY HAD BEEN CREATED.