Fossils Collected on Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle Voyage Just Discovered

January 19, 2012

Candice Gaukel Andrews

Curiosity can lead to wondrous things, as every scientist knows. And it certainly did recently for Dr. Howard Falcon-Lang at the British Geological Survey.

Poking around in a dusty corner in the survey’s archives, Falcon-Lang happened to come across an old cabinet. Of course, he opened a few drawers to see what was inside. He was shocked by what he found: The first slide he pulled out of its pocket turned out to be one of the specimens collected by Charles Darwin on his famous expedition to the Galapagos Islands on the HMS Beagle — one of many such items that have been hidden for more than 165 years.

Read more about this new discovery and then view an online museum exhibit. See the story, as reported by the CBS Evening News.

Image: J. Cameron. Copyright expired.