Earth teems with a stunning diversity of living things. The source of this profusion of life was a profound mystery until Charles Darwin presented his revolutionary ideas on natural selection in his book “On the Origin of Species” on November 24th, 1859.
Natural selection has given rise to a plethora of
living organisms each adapted and specialized to occupy a particular ecological
niche and over time this process eventually led to the emergence of new
species.
 |
| This portrait of Charles Darwin was painted by George Richmond in the late 1830s, around the time Darwin was fleshing out his theory of evolution. |
But Darwin
