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Darwin describes snakes and lizards while in Patagonia. The sentence on page is materially incorrect. 2601:206:8782:2940:1CC3:6DF2:390:E7DA (talk) 07:02, 17 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Exactly what is wrong with it? Errantios (talk) 11:24, 17 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Looking at citation 56 it quotes "The absence of any species whatever in the whole class of Reptiles is a marked feature in the zoology of this country, as well as in that of the Falkland Islands. I do not ground this statement merely on my own observation, but I heard it from the Spanish inhabitants of the latter place, and from Jemmy Button with regard to Tierra del Fuego." That's in CD, 1834 P. 301 . . . dave souza, talk 09:19, 18 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, exactly what problem are you pointing to? If the article is misquoting or it is mistaking what Darwin said, you can fix it. Errantios (talk) 10:42, 18 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

These are the sources, the article sentence looks good to me, though I'm not sure of the boundaries of Paragonia. Any refinements can be discussed for clarification. . . dave souza, talk 21:24, 18 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think the sentence is wrong. Darwin is quoted as saying that there are no reptiles in Tierra del Fuego, whereas our article says Patagonia. According to the maps in the respective articles, Tierra del Fuega is the southern tip of Patagonia. I suggest altering "In Patagonia, Darwin formed the incorrect belief that the territory was devoid of reptiles." to "Darwin incorrectly believed that Tierra del Fuego, an archipeligo at the southern end of Patagonia, was devoid of reptiles." Dudley Miles (talk) 22:33, 18 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! My misunderstanding, and moving the sentence to the following paragraph makes the context much clearer. . .dave souza, talk 04:59, 19 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

He read Lyell's second volume and accepted its description of "centres of creation" of species, but his discoveries and theorising challenged Lyell's ideas of smooth continuity and of extinction of species. In Tierra del Fuego, Darwin formed the incorrect belief that the archipelago was devoid of reptiles.[60] – done, thanks to IP who raised the question. . .dave souza, talk 04:59, 19 October 2025 (UTC) I had just read voyage of the beagle when I read this page for the first time. Sorry I wasn't more specific, but Darwin believed only Tierra del Diego had no endemic reptiles. Also, this is the first time I've used this function of wikipedia! Thanks for making the adjustment![reply]

The page starts with "Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist...", but I find "English" being vague and confusing, and I propose the change to "British". But my knowledge on the matter is limited, and I hope someone more knowledgeable can decide if the proposal is correct. Virolino (talk) 08:49, 21 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There have been many disruptive edits where person A goes to many articles changing "English" to "British", while person B does the opposite. Presumably "English" means English people while "British" means British people. I don't know which is "correct". Some previous discussions: Talk:Charles Darwin/Archive 4#Sigh, the fist sentence + Talk:Charles Darwin/Archive 6#Opening sentence + Talk:Charles Darwin/Archive 11#'English Naturalist' + Talk:Charles Darwin/Archive 14#Nationality and citizenship, British?. Johnuniq (talk) 10:13, 21 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It is back and forth about whether to take the more specific term or not. take the more specific term or not. Charles Darwin was both English and British (much like one can be Californian and American). Darwin's ancestry is I think mostly from people born in England; his wife's mother was Welsh (and his great nephew Ralph Vaughan Williams was a thorough mix of of Welsh and English ancestry though is describe as "English" in his article). Erp (talk) 13:13, 23 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Darwin and his parents were born and spent most of their lives in England. Darwin is English as David Hume and Adam Smith are Scottish. "English" is neither vague nor confusing. If a reader doesn't know that England was then and still is part of Britain (today the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), the reader needs to become better informed—see, right here, England. When Americans refer to Britain as "England", that is their own carelessness. Errantios (talk) 21:27, 23 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I don't find "English" vague and confusing at all. In fact, it's more precise. He is both English AND British. Discussions of his ancestry mean little. A person is not their ancestry. HiLo48 (talk) 22:49, 23 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. CD was both English AND British. . . dave souza, talk 00:38, 24 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• I've had a look for sources, most don't define Darwin as either "British" or "English", the exception is "Darwin Online: Biography". The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. Perhaps no one has influenced our knowledge of the natural world as much as English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882). so that's reasonable justification. (The English people article confusingly doesn't note that the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain extended to Northumbria including a major part of Scotland in the Early Middle Ages). Browne writes of Darwin's family; "Britain was becoming the first industrial nation: a nation of shopkeepers, according to Napoleon ... Dr. Darwin was solidly respectable, [his family] had been members of the English provincial gentry for generations." See Browne, Janet (1995). Charles Darwin: Voyaging. p. 6. So, both British and English. . . dave souza, talk 08:56, 23 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

  As noted above, CD was both English AND British. Darwin Online: Biography is a source for English, if want to add British, we could look for another source. Browne p. 245 is a possibility, but the book can stay on the shelf for now. . . dave souza, talk 00:53, 24 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Paragraph 3 of the introduction, this sentence appears twice:

"Darwin's work established evolutionary descent with modification as the dominant scientific explanation of natural diversification." ~2026-17348-8 (talk) 02:28, 9 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it did. I've fixed it. Thanks for alerting us. HiLo48 (talk) 02:41, 9 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Change "enroled" to "enrolled" near the end of the article. ~2026-52204-9 (talk) 18:28, 29 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

 Done I couldn't find exactly 'enroled,' but I did find "enrolment' which I fixed. If you need anything feel free to re-open this request. Swee☩ Amber|Bbyshrkbss2 18:35, 29 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The article is in British English. I had changed "enrollment" to "enrolment", but you changed it back. I have reverted that. For my Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives "enrolled", "enrolling" and "enrolment"—to which the article now conforms. Errantios (talk) 23:17, 29 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Understandably, have a great day. Swee☩ Amber|Bbyshrkbss2 13:00, 30 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]