Facts about Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos penguin is the only to be found in the northern hemisphere and to breed in the tropics

A Galapagos tortoise can weigh up to 595lb (270kg) with a carapace length of 4ft (1.2m) and outlive most humans

The endemic Galapagos fur sea lions are the smallest among the world's seven species of fur sea lions

The Galapagos Marine Iguana is the only marine lizard to exist in the world

The Galapagos Islands are home to the world's largest cormorant and the only one unable to fly.

Galapagos has one of the world's rarest ecosystems in which the herbivores at the top of the food chain are reptiles.

Galapagos Swallow-tailed gulls are the only gulls in the world to feed at night

The Galapagos boasts the world`s largest and only red-footed booby colony

There are 23 species of reptile in the Galapagos and all but two of those are endemic to the archipelago.

The Galapagos is one of the few areas of the world where turtles are still a common sight.

Over 400 species of fish have been recognized in the Galapagos, with 41 species unique to the islands.

At 30cm in length and with a large pair of venomous jaws, the endemic centipede (Scolopendra galapagoensis) is among the Islands' most feared animals