To J. D. Hooker 28 January 1877
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington S.E.R.
Jan 28. 77
My dear Hooker,
I am delighted to hear that I have not made you savage about Frank’s paper.1 I enclose an extract from my Coral book which tells all I know about Aldabara, & you will see that it merely shows that the island is not an ordinary atoll.2 I said to Günther many months ago that the most probable view about his tortoises seemed to me to be that various closely allied forms had once been distributed over almost the whole world. How the deuce they get to volcanic islands I cannot pretend to say.3
Every yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin
[Enclosure]
“Thirdly, Aldabra,— it consists of three islets, about 25 feet in height, with red cliffs (Horsburgh vol 1 p. 176)4 surrounding a very shollow basin or lagoon. The sea is profoundly deep close to the shore. Viewing this island in a chart, it would be thought an atoll; but the foregoing description shows that there is something different in it’s nature; Dr Allan also states that it is cavernous, & that the coral-rock has a vitrified appearance.5 Is it an upheaved atoll, or the crater of a volcano?—uncoloured.—”
Footnotes
Bibliography
Columbia gazetteer of the world: The Columbia gazetteer of the world. Edited by Saul B. Cohen. 3 vols. New York: Columbia University Press. 1998.
Coral reefs: The structure and distribution of coral reefs. Being the first part of the geology of the voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Capt. FitzRoy RN, during the years 1832 to 1836. By Charles Darwin. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1842.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Horsburgh, James. 1836. India directory: or, directions for sailing to and from the East Indies, China, Australia, Cape of Good Hope, Brazil, and the interjacent ports. 4th edition. 2 vols. London: W. H. Allen and Co.
Summary
CD thinks A. Günther’s tortoises are relics of closely allied forms, once widely distributed. Expressed this view to AG a few months ago. Cannot explain their restriction to volcanic islands.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10819
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 95: 432–3
- Physical description
- LS 2pp, encl 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10819,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10819.xml
