San Cristobal - Fauna & Flora

Saturday, 25 August 2018

Galapagos Day 1

It's always difficult to know on the first day what's going to become a daily sight, and what's unique to the day. It's even more difficult in the Galapagos because so many species are endemic to just one or a few islands.

Fauna

I'll start with the ubiquitous brilliantly orange Sally Lightfoot Crabs. These can get to be quite large, up to 20 cm (8 inches) across. The juveniles start black and blend into the rocks quite well, as they mature, they turn orange. The blue crab at the left is not quite mature.

Sally Lightfoot Crab

The Galapagos Sea Lion is also ubiquitous. While this one was sleeping on a rock in the harbor, they really enjoy the sandy beaches.

The marine iguana, the world's only sea-faring lizard, is also found throughout the Galapagos, but can be divided into seven subspecies. They are frequently found in large groups.

It may look like the iguana has barnacles on his head, but it just a coloration of the scales.

The Galapagos are, of course, famous for finches and their island-by-island adaptations to the environment. By and large, they are fairly drab, with the ground finches basically black. ("BBB", basic black bird). They are difficult to photograph because they do not like to stay put and the blend into the environment. This one is a ground finch, probably a cactus ground finch.

Lava heron.

Flora

While not as popularly known for unique vegetation, the Galapagos also have a large number of specialized plants.

This is Galapagos cotton. It is in the same genus as cotton used for textiles, and the seeds have soft tufts that birds like to use in their nests.

While lichens are not strictly plants (they have both an alga or cyanobacterium and fungal components), I'm lumping them with the plants. These vivid lichens were growing on Palo Santo trees.

As befits an arid environment, the cacti were fascinating. These are candelabra cactus.

Fruits on a candelabra cactus.

Flora & Fauna

When fauna meets flora: A cactus ground finch nest in a prickly pear cactus. Note the tufts of Galapagos cotton in the nest.