Sally Lightfoot Crab - Galapagos
Galapagos Islands
Off the Coast of Equador
South America
After going on many photographic tours, I find I have quite a few archived photos from some of those trips. One of my trips was to the Galapagos Islands in 2013. The following images are from that trip. The image of the crab was taken on San Cristobal Island/Chatham Island
Click on Image to Enlarge.
For More info on the Galapagos - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_Islands
Grapsus grapsus is one of the most common crabs along the western coast of the Americas. It is known variously as, "red rock crab", "abuete negro", and along with crabs such as Percnon gibbesi as, "Sally Lightfoot".
Grapsus grapsus is found along the Pacific coast of Mexico, Central America, South America (as far south as northern Peru), and on nearby islands, including the Galápagos Islands. It is also found along the Atlantic coast of South America, but is replaced in the eastern Atlantic Ocean (Ascension Island and West Africa) by its congener Grapsus adscensionis.
Scientists agree that the Galapagos Islands were never connected to the mainland. Thus, the ancestors of every plant and animal species native to the islands arrived in the archipelago from somewhere else. Despite being separated by hundreds of miles from the mainland, most of the animals in the Galapagos originated from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Land birds and California sea lions arrived from North America, pink flamingos and Darwin’s finches from the Caribbean. Land iguanas, giant tortoises, pelicans, cormorants and boobies all arrived from South America. Fur sea lions and penguins came north thousands of years ago as a result of the Humboldt Current from the Antarctic. Animals that were not so adaptive to the ocean, such as land mammals, had to wait until passage was provided by human vessels.
Today, most scientists accept the theory of long-distance dispersal for bringing life to the Galapagos Islands. It is hard to imagine that so many organisms could endure the hazardous voyage, survive in an unfamiliar environment and reproduce. Flotation rafts of natural vegetation, wind and air currents and oceanic drift all contributed to this “sweepstakes dispersal.” Birds displaced from their migratory routes also landed on the islands. Sea birds carried seeds and invertebrates on their feathers and in their digestive tracts. When they deposited this “cargo,” new colonies took root.
Many animals are not found in the Galapagos. Amphibians and other aquatic animals, for example, are poorly represented. Large terrestrial mammals similarly failed to make the crossing. The lack of herbivorous mammals left a niche open for tortoises. These huge reptiles developed and became the large grazing herbivores on land, a position they enjoyed until the relatively recent arrival of humans with domestic livestock.
Sally Lightfoot Crab - Galapagos
Galapagos Islands
Off the Coast of Equador
South America
After going on many photographic tours, I find I have quite a few archived photos from some of those trips. One of my trips was to the Galapagos Islands in 2013. The following images are from that trip. The image of the crab was taken on San Cristobal Island/Chatham Island
Click on Image to Enlarge.
For More info on the Galapagos - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_Islands
Grapsus grapsus is one of the most common crabs along the western coast of the Americas. It is known variously as, "red rock crab", "abuete negro", and along with crabs such as Percnon gibbesi as, "Sally Lightfoot".
Grapsus grapsus is found along the Pacific coast of Mexico, Central America, South America (as far south as northern Peru), and on nearby islands, including the Galápagos Islands. It is also found along the Atlantic coast of South America, but is replaced in the eastern Atlantic Ocean (Ascension Island and West Africa) by its congener Grapsus adscensionis.
Scientists agree that the Galapagos Islands were never connected to the mainland. Thus, the ancestors of every plant and animal species native to the islands arrived in the archipelago from somewhere else. Despite being separated by hundreds of miles from the mainland, most of the animals in the Galapagos originated from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Land birds and California sea lions arrived from North America, pink flamingos and Darwin’s finches from the Caribbean. Land iguanas, giant tortoises, pelicans, cormorants and boobies all arrived from South America. Fur sea lions and penguins came north thousands of years ago as a result of the Humboldt Current from the Antarctic. Animals that were not so adaptive to the ocean, such as land mammals, had to wait until passage was provided by human vessels.
Today, most scientists accept the theory of long-distance dispersal for bringing life to the Galapagos Islands. It is hard to imagine that so many organisms could endure the hazardous voyage, survive in an unfamiliar environment and reproduce. Flotation rafts of natural vegetation, wind and air currents and oceanic drift all contributed to this “sweepstakes dispersal.” Birds displaced from their migratory routes also landed on the islands. Sea birds carried seeds and invertebrates on their feathers and in their digestive tracts. When they deposited this “cargo,” new colonies took root.
Many animals are not found in the Galapagos. Amphibians and other aquatic animals, for example, are poorly represented. Large terrestrial mammals similarly failed to make the crossing. The lack of herbivorous mammals left a niche open for tortoises. These huge reptiles developed and became the large grazing herbivores on land, a position they enjoyed until the relatively recent arrival of humans with domestic livestock.