Dapitan's flora and fauna stirred Rizal to study and collect specimens of reptiles, birds, insects, crustaceans, and seashells, as well as ethnographic and archaeological objects, which he sent to European scholars and institutions for further examination. Some of these zoological specimens were named after him such as the fllying lizard Draco rizali, a new species of toad, Rhacophorus rizali, and a small beetle Apogonia rizali. Rizal is sometimes considered as the Father of Philippine Archaeology for his excavation and discovery of pre-colonial artifacts in Lumanao Hill.
Writing to Blumentritt in February 1893: "I am very far from the incessant and indefatigable life of civilized Europe where everything is discussed, where everything is placed in doubt, and nothing is accepted without previous examination, previous analysis - the life of the societies of linguistics, ethnography, geography, medicine, and archaeology. But on the other hand, I am nearer nature, I hear constantly the song of the sea, the murmur of the leaves, and I see the continuous fluttering of the palms stirred by the breeze."
Writing to Blumentritt in February 1893: "I am very far from the incessant and indefatigable life of civilized Europe where everything is discussed, where everything is placed in doubt, and nothing is accepted without previous examination, previous analysis - the life of the societies of linguistics, ethnography, geography, medicine, and archaeology. But on the other hand, I am nearer nature, I hear constantly the song of the sea, the murmur of the leaves, and I see the continuous fluttering of the palms stirred by the breeze."