BIRDS OF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS 
303 
among the rock-pools and feeding there on seaweed. The 
terrestrial species has no webs on the toes, and is of about the 
same size as its aquatic relative, reddish brown above and 
yellow underneath. It inhabits burrows, which occur in such 
numbers that the soil is constantly giving way as one walks 
over them, much to the annoyance of the tired traveller, as 
Mr. Darwin * * * § remarks. Some of the tortoises, according to 
Darwin, grow to an immense size, yielding as much as two 
hundred pounds of meat. Like the two lizards they are 
entirely vegetable feeders. 
When Dr. Gunther f described the reptilian fauna of the 
islands he distinguished five species of lizards instead of 
the three mentioned by Darwin. The gigantic tortoises, 
moreover, he thought, were referable to five distinct forms, 
every one of them inhabiting a different island. He did not 
speculate on their origin or past history, but mentioned that, 
although large land-tortoises are now restricted to the two 
widely separated regions of the Galapagos islands on the 
one hand, and the Mascarenes and Seychelles on the other, 
they formerly had an extensive range. In the Miocene Period 
they lived in India, southern Europe and in North and South 
America. We may consequently look upon the few survivors 
as relicts of Tertiary times. J 
More recent researches on the reptiles show that there are 
far more distinct forms than was anticipated even by Dr. 
Gunther. Mr. Garman§ alludes to twenty-two species, among 
them several geckos. lie does not enter into a discussion as 
to their origin; he merely states that two theories have been 
advanced to explain the affinities of the fauna. 
The Iiopkins-Stanford Expedition of 1898 made such ex¬ 
tensive collections on the islands that many additional forms 
were discovered among the material sent to the Museum of the 
Stanford University. Mr. Heller, who describes the reptiles, 
mentions twenty-five species and several varieties. Nine of 
these are giant tortoises, fifteen are lizards, and there is one 
snake. Among the lizards there are six geckos (Geckonidae) 
* Darwin, C., “ Journal of Researches,” pp. 278—284. 
t Gunther, A., “ Zoological Collections from Galapagos,” p. 66. 
f Gunther, A., “ Gigantic Land-tortoises,” p.253. 
§ Garman, S., “ Reptiles of Galapagos Islands.” 
