Darwinism Verified. 27 



ducing their kind until the present day. In such 

 an instance as this we have something very nearly 

 like crucial proof of the theory of " descent with 

 modifications." In like manner the extinct eden- 

 tata of South America are closely allied to the 

 living ant-eaters, sloths, and armadilloes. So, 

 too, the indigenous floras and faunas of islands 

 lying near continents always resemble the floras 

 and faunas of the continents near which they lie. 

 The Galapagos archipelago, distant some five hun- 

 dred miles from the coast of Ecuador, has a fauna 

 which, though generically distinct from all others, 

 is yet South American in type, and closely resem- 

 bles the fauna of Ecuador. Again, among the ani- 

 mals living on the different islands of this group, 

 we find specific diversity along with generic iden- 

 tity. On the Darwinian theory this is just what 

 might be expected. The long isolation of the 

 archipelago from the continent has given oppor- 

 tunity for the rise of generic divergences between 

 their once homogeneous faunas, while the briefer 

 isolation of the several islands from each other 

 has been attended by slighter, or specific, diver- 

 gences ; and, as if to complete by contrast the 

 force of the example, we find that the only ani- 

 mals on the archipelago which are not generically 

 different from their allies on the continent are 



