The Galapagos is no place for a mammal. But it's a great place to be a reptile. Land animals had to make the trip here via rafts of vegetation that broke loose from the mainland, which isn't so bad if you have scaly skin, are cold-blooded and can go for a long time without fresh water. A few rodents managed to colonize the islands, and there are some native bats, but reptiles rule. One of the weirdest reptiles is the marine iguana, the world's only seagoing lizard. It basks on lava rocks to warm up in the morning, then swims around in the surf eating seaweed. They get to be four feet long or more and look for all the world like Godzilla. Like other Galapagos creatures, they aren't particularly bothered by humans gawking at them.

A Naturalist’s Pilgrimage to the Galapagos

Smithsonian’s Laura Helmuth vacationed in the Galapagos Islands and returned with even more respect for Charles Darwin

Domestic cats are the most popular pet in America, numbering some 80 million.

Cats as Pets and Predators

Jake Page explores the evolution and enigmatic ways of the most popular pet in America — the house cat

Brachiosaurus

Blog Carnival, Edition #4: Texas Troubles, Big Dinosaurs, and a Danny McBride Interview

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Vote for Hubble’s Next Target

New technology, with all of its conveniences, has created a new society called Elsewhere, U.S.A., according to professor Dalton Conley.

The Journey to Elsewhere, U.S.A.

A professor explains how new technology drastically altered the modern American family unit

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Battle of the Giant Theropods

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Don’t Drink the Water

The AP reported earlier this week that the Indian pharmaceutical industry is spewing a drug soup into the waters of a town near Hyderabad

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Lincoln vs. Darwin (Part 4 of 4)

On this blog, several of the staff of Smithsonian magazine have been debating who was more important, Abraham Lincoln or Charles Darwin

After coming within 50 feet of several wolves, Frank Clifford understands why 100,000 people say they come to Yellowstone just to see wolves.

Frank Clifford on “Howling Success”

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A Tiny Fossilized Treasure

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Lincoln vs. Darwin (Part 3 of 4)

We asked: Who was more important, Abraham Lincoln or Charles Darwin? T.A. Frail took up the fight for Lincoln, and Laura Helmuth argued for Darwin

Fossil of a Seymouria (extinct)

If You Found a Fossil on the Ground, What Would You Do?

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Lincoln vs. Darwin (Part 2 of 4)

Recently, someone here at Smithsonian asked: Who was more important, Abraham Lincoln or Charles Darwin?

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Picture of the Week—Snowy Peaks

The recent cold spell is getting a lot of attention, but we should all remember that it could be worse

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Lincoln vs. Darwin (Part 1 of 4)

Next month we celebrate an odd double anniversary—the 200th anniversaries of the births of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin

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Minotaurasaurus: A New Ankylosaur?

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How Many Ugandan Mountain Gorillas?

Mountain gorillas are rare and endangered, and they have the misfortune to live in a part of the world wracked by human violence

Wallace saw signs of evolution by natural selection in Malaysian butterflies.

Out of Darwin’s Shadow

Alfred Russel Wallace arrived at the theory of natural selection independently of Charles Darwin and nearly outscooped Darwin’s The Origin of Species

Edward Hitchcock

Edward Hitchcock’s Poetic Words

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What We Missed While Watching the Inauguration

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