Scientists from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, have discovered a new biological species in the Galapagos Islands - the pink iguana Rosada. It has been established that Rosada split from other iguanas 5.7 million years ago, making it the oldest biological species in the archipelago. Currently, no more than 100 representatives of this unique species remain on the islands
Scientists led by Gabriel Gentile of the University of Rome Tor Vergata have discovered a new biological species in the Galapagos Islands - the pink iguana Rosada, according to BBC News. Currently, no more than 100 representatives of this unique species remain on the islands.
From the largest iguana in the Galapagos Islands, the yellow iguana Conolophus subcristatus, the pink iguana is distinguished by its more aggressive behavior and features of the chest structure.
It has been established that Rosada separated from other iguana species 5.7 million years ago, at a time when the western islands of the Galapagos archipelago did not yet exist. This makes it the oldest biological species in the archipelago. Most likely, originally pink iguanas lived on the tops of volcanoes that peeped out above the ocean surface, and only then moved to land, where they began their development as a separate species.
Of particular interest to this story is the fact that it was the material collected in the Galapagos Islands that inspired Charles Darwin to create the theory of evolution, formulated in 1859 in his book The Origin of Species. Darwin also conducted scientific work on Wolf Volcano, but the pink iguana went unnoticed and did not get into the famous book.