Galapagos Archipelago

The Galapagos Archipelago is located off the Western Coast of South America. It has no permanent buildings on it and is very well known for Charles Darwin formulating his Theory of Evolution Through Natural Selection (coauthored by Albert Wallace) by observing life there.

Galapagos Archipelago Map

Each island has unique flora and fauna. There is a species of iguana that has evolved to dive into the icy cold waters to eat the plants growing underwater. The trees present on the islands are not a true trees but are a species of dandelion that has evolved to reach enormous size due to the lack of competition. Tortoises have also reached astronomical sizes due to the lack of predators. Tortoises are the most common life in the Galapagos Archipelago. Each island has a unique species of tortoise that are specifically evolved to survive in those conditions. There is also a Galapagos Penguin. The Galapagos Penguin came from either Antarctica or Australia and has evolved to suit the conditions found on the islands. As it can travel through water it can and has populated all islands in the Galapagos Archipelago along with Galapagos Iguanas.

The formation of the archipelago is due to a hotspot (a spot in the mantle that is particularly hot and therefore able to push through the crust). Lava pushes through the crust and forms volcanoes. These volcanoes grow as they erupt and soon form islands. As the crust of the earth moves the islands move, but the hotspot does not, leaving a volcanic chain of islands. As the islands move off the hotspot, magma (lava once it has breached crust) stops feeding the volcanoes and they erode quickly. 

-Darwin

Wallace Line

The Wallace Line is a line that separates Asian animal species from Australian animal species. It is named after biologist Alfred Wallace, who coauthored Darwin's Theory of Evolution Through Natural Selection. On the Western side of the line, Asian species of animals are found like monkeys and tigers. On the Australian (Eastern) side of the line, Australian species of animal are found like cassowaries and honey eaters.

-Wallace

4th Guessing Article

Congratulations to lordalphabet on his third win. Will anyone be able to stop him?

I am an animal

1. I live in South America
2. I have a "horn"
3. I can change colour
4. I am a reptile
5. I am not a chameleon
6. My "horn" is actually called a proboscis
7. My population is dwindling
8. I am only found in Ecuador
9. The word proboscis is the first word in my name

3rd Guessing Article

Congratulations to lord alphabet on his second win

Animal

1. I live at depths between 600m and 1200m

2nd Guessing Article

Congratulations to lord alphabet for guessing the first animal (Gigantopithecus)

I am animal.

1. I lived in Australia and Columbia.
2. I was between 9 and 10 metres long.
3. I lived under water
4. I was a marine reptile
5. My teeth exceed 7 cm long and my largest can be up to 30 cm long
6. I lived in the ocean

New Section Rules

Firstly, sorry for the inactivity and lack of posts. Secondly, I am going to start a new section where I select an animal or element and then list 1 characteristic or clue per day. You (yes there is audience interaction) have to comment on that post what animal or element it is however only 3 guesses per day. You will need the common name and scientific name of the animal or just scientific. The animals can be extinct and the post will include whether it is an animal or element. Stay tuned, for the first one will be posted soon.

Have fun!

1st Guessing Article

This is a weekly thing that we will be doing where you have to guess an Animal or Element. We will be editing this everyday so check back and post your idea of what it is. Only 3 guesses per day or we may report you for spam and delete your comments. For any other concerns I will be posting some section rules later today. It may be a good idea to subscribe to the blog so you know what time I post.



Animal

1. My existence was once considered a myth
2. I lived in China and India
3. It was roughly three metres tall

Myllokunmingia

Myllokunmingia

All known vertebrates can trace their ancestry back to Myllokunmingia, which is thought to be the first animal with vertebrae. This creature is a primitive example of a fish. These fish are thought to have an advantage over other life (invertebrates) due to increased mobility and non-brittle armour. They eventually evolved into amphibians, which had the ability to go onto land, but had to stay near water. These amphibians evolved into reptiles, which were not confined to stay near water all the time as the amphibians were. These reptiles evolved into dinosaurs, mammals and birds.

-Darwin

E=mc2

Perhaps the most famous equation known to man is E=mc², but what does it actually mean?

The "E" in the equation is energy. The "m" is the change in mass and the "c" is the speed of light. Therefore the equation is, "Energy is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by the speed of light squared." An example is an object that weighs 12 grams. The equation would be 12 x 8.98755179 x 10¹⁶. This is equal to 1,078,506,219,000,000,000 joules. That is equal to 107,850,621,900,000 kilojoules or 299,585,061 Watts.

-Einstein

Water

The most unusual compound known to science is water. The liquid form is denser than the solid form, and it is the only known compound that is naturally found in the three most basic states of matter. It is also made up of oxygen and hydrogen, two elements that are known to react violently. An example is that liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen are used to create rocket fuel. Also, water is now the basis of the celsius scale, with water freezing at roughly zero and boiling at roughly 100.

-H20