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hissed from deep in the rock blocked his path. The broken lava was covered by stunted, sunburned brushwood that looked far more dead than alive.
In a grove of trees filled with chirping birds, Darwin found his thirteenth and fourteenth new species of finches. Their beaks were larger and rounder than any hed seen on
other islands. More important, these finches ate small red berries.
Everywhere else on Earth finches ate seeds. In these islands some finches ate seeds,
some insects, and some berries! More amazingly, each species of finch had a beak perfectly
shaped to gather the specific type of food that species preferred to eat.
Darwin began to doubt the Christian teaching that God created each species just as it
was and that species were unchanging. He deduced that, long ago, one variety of finch arrived in the Galapagos from South America, spread out to the individual islands, and then
adapted (evolved) to best survive in its particular environment and with its particular
sources of food. These findings he reported in his book, A Naturalists Voyage on the
Beagle.
After his return to England, Darwin read the collected essays of economist Thomas
Malthus, who claimed that, when human populations could not produce enough food, the
weakest people starved, died of disease, or were killed in fighting. Only the strong survived.
Darwin realized that this concept should apply to the animal world as well.
He blended this idea with his experiences and observations on the Beagle to conclude
that all species evolved to better ensure species survival. He called it natural selection.
A shy and private man, Darwin agonized for years about revealing his theories to the
public. Other naturalists finally convinced him to produce and publish Origin of Species.
With that book, Darwins discoveries and theory of evolution became the guiding light of
biological sciences.
Fun Facts: Bats, with their ultrasonic echolocation, have evolved the
most acute hearing of any terrestrial animal. With it, bats can detect insects the size of gnats and objects as fine as a human hair.
More to Explore
Aydon, Cyril. Charles Darwin: The Naturalist Who Started a Scientific Revolution.
New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003.
Bowlby, John. Charles Darwin: A New Life. New York: W. W. Norton, 1998.
Bowler, Peter. Charles Darwin: The Man and His Influence. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1998.
Browne, Janet. Charles Darwin: Voyaging. London: Jonathan Cape, 1998.
Dennet, Daniel. Darwins Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life. New
York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Jenkins, Steve. Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.
Mayr, Ernst. One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997.
Woram, John. Charles Darwin Slept Here. Rockville Center, NY: Rockville Press,
2005.
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