GalápagospenguinscanonlybefoundintheGalápagos Islands.
TheGalápagossupportthreekindsoflivingthings. NativespeciesarefoundnaturallyinGalápagosandelsewhere.Thefrigatebirdisagoodexample.Soistheblue‑footedbooby.IntroducedspeciesarefoundintheGalápagosbecausetheywerebroughttherebypeople,intentionallyoraccidentally.Thegoatisanexampleofanintroducedspecies.Endemicspeciesareonlyfoundinthe Galápagos.
Becauseoftheremotenatureoftheislands,manyplantsandanimalsareendemic.Strange thingslivehereandonlyhere.Lizardsthatswim.Gianttortoises.Meat‑eatingcentipedes.Blood‑suckingbirds.Walkingfish.Fish‑eatingsnakes.Someofthesedon’tseemtobelongtothisworld.Othersjustdon’tseemtobelonginthispartofthe world.
Galápagospenguinsareararefind,indeed.Theyareoneofthesmallestpenguinsintheworld.AndtheyaretheonlypenguinsfoundnorthoftheEquator.ThecoolwatersoftheHumboldtcurrentcarriedthemherelongago,andspecialbehaviorsallowthemto thrive.
Galápagospenguinsareblack‑and‑whitewithsmallspotsontheirchests,asindividualas fingerprints.
leaningintocool down
Theblue‑footedboobycanbefoundinthePacific,fromCaliforniatoPeruandontheGalápagos Islands.
Thepenguinsweighlittlemorethanabagofsugar(2.5kilograms,or5.5pounds).Theydiveinthecold‑watercurrentstodepthsof50meters(164feet)tosearchforsmallfishandshellfishto eat.
Tomanagehottertemperaturesonland,Galápagospenguinsleanforwardtoshadetheirfeetfromthesun.Theystretchtheirflippersouttothesidestoreleasebodyheatfromundertheirflippers.Toprotecttheireggsfromthesun,theytuckthemincool,rocky crevices.
HiddeninPlain Sight
TheGalápagoscontinuetosurpriseuswithnewformsoflife.Thehybridiguanawasonlyrecentlydiscovered.Itisfoundonlyonthesmallestisland,SouthPlaza.Thehybridisamash‑upthatoccurswhenamalemarineiguanamateswithafemaleland iguana.
