Are Darwin's Finches One Species or Many?

Darwin’s finches are icons of evolution, but scientists disagree about what exactly they represent.

By Greg Breining
Feb 26, 2015 12:00 AMOct 15, 2019 4:00 PM
finch.jpg?mw=900&mh=600
Finch specimens collected during the second voyage of the HMS Beagle in the 1830s. (The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London)

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The finches that Charles Darwin collected in the Galapagos Islands are considered textbook examples of how a single species differentiated into many to exploit different resources. Subtle changes in the size and structure of beaks among the six species of ground finches have been called “evolution caught in the act.” But are they really one species, or several? In Science Smackdown, we let experts argue both sides of the question.

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