Galapagos Display

[stemturtle]

Charles Darwin explored the Galapagos Islands in 1835. Different species of mockingbirds and subspecies of tortoises endemic to each island were the catalysts for his theory that natural selection is the mechanism of evolution. Darwin later credited the Galapagos fauna and South American fossils for his conversion to becoming an evolutionist.

The display is organized by habitat in this order (from top): inland, terrace, shoreline, and ocean.






Inland
American flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber (Safari Exotic Birds Toob)
Prickly pear cactus, Opuntia sp. (Playmobil)
   *substitute for the Galapagos prickly pear, O. echios
Galapagos tortoise, Chelonoidis nigra (Banadi)
Pinta Island tortoise, Lonesome George, C. n. abingdonii (CollectA)
Charles Darwin (McDonald's UK)
Galapagos land iguana, Conolophus subcristatus (Bandai)
Woodpecker finch, Camarhynchus pallidus (Banadi)
Agave succulent, Agave sp. (Schleich)
Northern mockingbird,  Mimus polyglottos (Safari, Wings of the World)
   *substitute for the Galapagos mockingbird, Nesomimus parvulus

Terrace
Brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis (Yujin, customized)
Magnificent frigatebird, Frigata magnificens (Bandai)
Wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans (Kaiyodo/Furuta)
   *I do not own the rare Waved albatross, D. irrorata (Yowie)
Great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo (Kaiyodo ChocoQ)
   *substitute for the flightless cormorant, P. harrisi
Blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii (Banadi)

Shoreline
California sea lion,  Zalophus californianus (Colorata)
   *I do not own the Galapagos sea lion, Z. wollebaeki (Play Visions)
Marine iguana, Amblyrhynchus cristatus (Bandai)
Galapagos penguin, Spheniscus mendiculus (Banadi)
Sally lightfoot crab, Grapsus grapsus (Safari, Galapagos Toob)
Galapagos fur seal, Arctocephalus galapagoensis (Safari, Galapagos Toob)

Ocean
Scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyma lewini (Kaiyodo Capsule Aquarium series 5)
Marine iguana, swimming, Amblyrhynchus cristatus (Bandai)
Galapagos green turtle, Chelonia agassizii (Yujin)

Notes:
The core of this collection is the Galapagos set by Bandai, thanks to Brett.
Duplicate species from the Safari Galapagos Toob are not included.
The Galapagos hawk, Buteo galapagoensis (Safarai Galapagos Toob) is not shown here because it is suspended from above.

[bmathison1972]

What a neat and cool display! I soon should be getting the PV Sally lightfoot crab, which is a much better small model of that species!

[sbell]

Very cool.

But I must ask, why no Galapagos shark (Safari toob)?

And, I suppose, the Galapagos fur seal, from the same toob.

Also, if you are hunting Yowies, ask Brett--I was able to track down my New Zealand Grayling through him, at a decent cost.

[stemturtle]

The Galapagos shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis (Safari Galapagos Toob)

Yes, sbell, this shark belongs in the display. The reason it was sidelined is that the other ocean figures are swimming. Then I forgot about it. We can correct that injustice by including this guy as hunting on the seafloor.

The Galapagos fur seal is shown on the shoreline, far right, upon a flat stone. It would not stand upright without a prop.

[sbell]

The Galapagos shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis (Safari Galapagos Toob)

Yes, sbell, this shark belongs in the display. The reason it was sidelined is that the other ocean figures are swimming. Then I forgot about it. We can correct that injustice by including this guy as hunting on the seafloor.

The Galapagos fur seal is shown on the shoreline, far right, upon a flat stone. It would not stand upright without a prop.

I find clear modelling wax is a great way to lift up figures without needing 'bases'. And I just didn't see the seal!

[brontodocus]

What a great idea for a display, stemturtle!

[stemturtle]

Here is the inexcusably neglected hawk, untethered from its monofilament just long enough for a photo shoot.


Galapagos hawk, Buteo galapagoensis (Safari Galapagos Toob), wingspan about 5.0 in. or 7.5 cm.