Although Darwin and Mayr both contributed enormously to the topic of speciation, they had two totally different views on the main mechanism driving it. Darwin noticed geographic isolation but discounted any importance in it believing natural selection to be the driving force, while Mayr believed that geographic isolation was the driving force of speciation and founded the theory of allopatric speciation. For decades Mayr's idea has been the traditional method thought to result in the highest amount of speciation, but recent support has shifted from allopatry and Darwins gradualism to rapid and sporadic periods of speciation with periods of relative equilibrium regardless of geographic barriers.

Darwin, the father of evolution was amazingly correct or close to the truth on most of his theories regardless of modern day proofs such as genetics. Darwin first noticed a pattern of speciation on the Galapagos islands when the vice-governor, Mr Lawson, told...