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Island

Galápagos Animals

200 species

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on either side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere. Located 906 km west of continental Ecuador, the islands are known for their large number of endemic species that were studied by Charles Darwin during the second voyage of HMS Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection.

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Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all...

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

The Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a tall and statuesque bird when wading in the water seeking its prey, and it is graceful and swift when flying with its slow deep wing beats. It is one of the most majestic wild birds in North America. This...

Green Sea Turtle

Chelonia mydas

The Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. The common name of this species refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black....

Galápagos Tortoise

Chelonoidis nigra

The Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis niger) is the largest living species of tortoise. With lifespans in the wild of over 100 years, it is also one of the longest-lived vertebrates. In captivity, these adorable giants can live up to 177 years.

Blue-Footed Booby

Sula nebouxii

The Blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) is a marine bird native to subtropical and tropical regions of the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is one of six species of the genus Sula - known as boobies. It is easily recognizable by its distinctive bright blue...

Marine Iguana

Amblyrhynchus cristatus

The Marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) is a species of iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a marine reptile that has the ability to forage in the sea for algae, which makes up almost all of...

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

The American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) is a large species of flamingo native to the Neotropics. It is the only flamingo that naturally inhabits North America.

Cuvier's Beaked Whale

Ziphius cavirostris

The Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) is the most widely distributed of all beaked whales in the family Ziphiidae. It is smaller than most baleen whales yet large among beaked whales. Cuvier's beaked whale is pelagic and occurs in waters...

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

The Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) has been described as a comically elegant bird. Groups of these seabirds glide above surf along western and southern coasts, gracefully echoing the waves with their rise and fall. They plunge-dive from high...

Ocean sunfish

Mola mola

The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different species, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg (545...

Galápagos Penguin

Spheniscus mendiculus

The Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) is the only penguin found north of the equator. The cool waters of the Humboldt and Cromwell Currents allow it to survive despite the tropical latitude. The Galápagos penguin is one of the banded...

Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

The Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a wide-ranging marine mammal of the family Delphinidae. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin species due to the wide exposure it receives in captivity in marine parks and...

Black-Bellied Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna autumnalis

The Black-bellied whistling duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) is a whistling duck found in the Americas. Since it is one of only two whistling duck species native to North America, it is occasionally just known as the "whistling duck" or "Mexican...

Red-Footed Booby

Sula sula

The Red-footed booby (Sula sula) is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. It is the smallest member of the booby and gannet family.

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

The magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens ) is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters off America, between northern Mexico and Perú on the Pacific coast and between Florida and southern...

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

Nyctanassa violacea

The Yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea) is a gorgeous graceful bird. More solitary than the Black-crowned night heron and often more secretive, this species is quite common in some parts of the southeast, especially in coastal regions....

Galápagos Sea Lion

Zalophus wollebaeki

Galápagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) are the smallest sea lion species and one of the most numerous species in the Galápagos archipelago. They are fairly social and can often be spotted sunning on sandy shores or rocks or gliding through the...

Mahi-mahi

Coryphaena hippurus

The mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide. Also widely called dorado (not to be confused with Salminus brasiliensis, a...

Monarch butterfly

Danaus plexippus

The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It is...

Hoary Bat

Lasiurus cinereus

The hoary bat (Aeorestes cinereus ) is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It lives throughout most of North America (possibly including Hawaii, although this is disputed).

Flightless Cormorant

Phalacrocorax harrisi

The flightless cormorant (Nannopterum harrisi ), also known as the Galapagos cormorant, is a cormorant endemic to the Galapagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only known cormorant that has...

Great frigatebird

Fregata minor

The great frigatebird (Fregata minor ) is a large seabird in the frigatebird family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific (including the Galapagos Islands) and Indian Oceans, as well as a tiny population in the South...

Striated heron

Butorides striata

The striated heron (Butorides striata ) also known as mangrove heron, little heron or green-backed heron, is a small heron, about 44 cm tall. Striated herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding...

Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise

Chelonoidis phantasticus

Chelonoidis niger phantasticus (commonly known as the Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise or Narborough Island giant tortoise) is a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise that was discovered in 1906 and thought extinct, until a single female was...

Vampire ground finch

Geospiza septentrionalis

The vampire ground finch (Geospiza septentrionalis ) is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. It was considered a very distinct subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis ) endemic to Wolf and Darwin Islands. The...

Red-billed tropicbird

Phaethon aethereus

The red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus ) is a tropicbird, one of three closely related species of seabird of tropical oceans. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has mostly white plumage with some black markings on the wings and...

Aedes aegypti

Aedes aegypti (/ˈiːdiːz/ from Greek αηδής: "hateful" and /aɪˈdʒɛpti/ from Latin, meaning "of Egypt"), the yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses, and other disease...

Swordfish

Xiphias gladius

Swordfish (Xiphias gladius), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfish are...

Galápagos Racer

Pseudalsophis biserialis

The Galápagos racer (Pseudalsophis biserialis ) is a colubrid snake in the genus Pseudalsophis that is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. It is a mildly venomous constrictor but it is not considered aggressive or harmful to humans. The two subspecies...

Bony-eared assfish

Acanthonus armatus

The bony-eared assfish (Acanthonus armatus) is a bathypelagic species of cusk-eel found in tropical and sub-tropical oceans at depths of from 1,171 to 4,415 metres (3,842 to 14,485 ft). It has been found as far north as Queen Charlotte Sound off...

Basking shark

Cetorhinus maximus

The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sharks reach 7.9 m (26...

Waved Albatross

Phoebastria irrorata

The waved albatross (Phoebastria irrorata ), also known as Galapagos albatross, is the only member of the family Diomedeidae located in the tropics. When they forage, they follow a straight path to a single site off the coast of Peru, about 1,000 km...

Nazca booby

Sula granti

The Nazca booby (Sula granti ) is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae, native to the eastern Pacific. First described by Walter Rothschild in 1902, it was long considered a subspecies of the masked booby until recognised as distinct...

German cockroach

Blattella germanica

The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), colloquially known as the croton bug, is a species of small cockroach, typically about 1.1 to 1.6 cm (0.43 to 0.63 in) long. In color it varies from tan to almost black, and it has two dark, roughly...

Galápagos Fur Seal

Arctocephalus galapagoensis

The Galápagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis ) is one of eight seals in the genus Arctocephalus and one of nine seals in the subfamily Arctocephalinae. It is the smallest of all of the eared seals. They are endemic to the Galápagos Islands in...

Blainville's Beaked Whale

Mesoplodon densirostris

Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris ), or the dense-beaked whale, is believed to be the widest ranging mesoplodont whale. The French zoologist Henri de Blainville first described the species in 1817 from a small piece of jaw — the...

Brown noddy

Anous stolidus

The brown noddy or common noddy (Anous stolidus ) is a seabird in the family Laridae. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related black noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black. The brown...

Galápagos Land Iguana

Conolophus subcristatus

The Galápagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus ) is a very large species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It is one of three species of the genus Conolophus. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, in the dry lowlands of the islands of...

American cockroach

Periplaneta americana

The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) is the largest species of common cockroach, and often considered a pest. In certain regions of the U.S. it is colloquially known as the waterbug, though it is not a true waterbug since it is not...

Hood mockingbird

Mimus macdonaldi

The Hood mockingbird (Mimus macdonaldi ), also known as the Española mockingbird, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to Española Island in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and it is one of four closely related mockingbird...

Shortfin mako shark

Isurus oxyrinchus

The shortfin mako (; Māori: /ˈmaːko/; Isurus oxyrinchus), also known as the shortfin mako shark, blue pointer, or bonito shark, is a large mackerel shark. It is commonly referred to as the mako shark, as is the longfin mako shark (Isurus paucus)....

Galápagos Pink Land Iguana

Conolophus marthae

The Galápagos pink land iguana (Conolophus marthae) is a critically endangered species of lizard. Due to its coloration, some call it the Pink iguana or the Galápagos rosy iguana. The species was first discovered in 1986 and was identified as a...

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