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Biogeography of Galápagos Land Snails

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Galápagos Marine Invertebrates

Part of the book series: Topics in Geobiology ((TGBI,volume 8))

Abstract

Land snails are among the earliest scientific collections recorded for the Galápagos. Although land snails have not always been the primary interest of collectors visiting the islands, material—mostly empty shells—made its way to private collections and museums in Europe and the United States, where it was described by specialists. Such prominent 19th century collectors as Hugh Cuming, Charles Darwin, and George Baur are well-known for their plant and/or animal collections, but only with respect to Cuming could it be said that mollusks exceeded or even rivaled his other interests in natural history. Despite this ancillary position among studies of the flora and fauna of the Galápagos, the land snails were the object of considerable biogeographical interest and speculation (Stearns, 1893; Dall, 1896). These speculations centered on how a remarkably diverse land snail fauna might develop on a small, arid, and extremely isolated archipelago.

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  1. Steven M. Chambers

    Present address: Southern California Field Station-Ventura Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura, California, 93003, USA

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  1. Division of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87103, USA

    Steven M. Chambers

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  1. Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California, USA

    Matthew J. James

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Chambers, S.M. (1991). Biogeography of Galápagos Land Snails. In: James, M.J. (eds) Galápagos Marine Invertebrates. Topics in Geobiology, vol 8. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0646-5_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0646-5_15

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