The Galapagos Archipelago has long been famed for its exotic, weird and unique wildlife, and in particular for the amazing “ecological naivete” so typical of isolated island groups, but unfortunately nowadays so rare. Since the 16th century, naturalists have been writing about the flora and fauna: from the more sensitive of the buccaneers to the world-renowned Charles Darwin, who was inspired by observations in this area to formulate his theory of Natural Selection. None of these however has waxed as eloquently as William Beebe, in his book “Galapagos, World’s End”. This renowned biologist and explorer led an expedition here in 1923, and the beautiful prose of the resulting book inspired many of the islands earliest European settlers to choose Galapagos in the first place. He was particularly overawed by the underwater world, and described it thus: “The life beneath the surface of the water about the Galapagos presents as great a contrast to the creatures of the land, as the fauna of a tropical jungle differs from that of the Arctic regions. The terrestrial organisms are relatively few in number and of somber shades; the submarine creatures form an unnumbered host, many equaling the gayest butterflies and birds.”
As I read this paragraph, the beautiful Moorish idol (Zanclus cornutus) immediately sprang to mind, as it truly is one of our prettiest and most butterfly-like fish, though it actually belongs to the same group as the surgeonfish, so is not a butterfly fish at all. This spectacular fish can be found in particularly large schools in the northern islands, such as Genovesa that we visit on Thursdays, due to a marked preference for the warmer waters, but is regularly seen, often in pairs, in the rest of the archipelago as well. This morning’s snorkeling in Bartolome could not have been more pleasant, as the water was still as a mirror and 80 degrees: who could possibly ask for more? The Moorish idol was just one of a star-studded cast on this outing, which included amongst others the Galapagos penguin and many white-tipped reef sharks. Snorkeling is undoubtedly a great highlight during this time of the year, giving us a wonderful glimpse into the world that so bewitched William Beebe.
