[3] Their name comes from the Portuguese: abrolho ("Abre Olhos" meaning: Open your eyes),[4] a rock awash or submerged sandbank that is a danger to ships.

As part of the instructions for the second survey voyage of HMS Beagle, the Admiralty noted "the great importance of knowing the true position of the Abrolhos Banks, and the certainty that they extend much further out than the limits assigned to them by Baron Roussin", and asked Captain Robert FitzRoy to take soundings and establish the position of the reefs.

[6] The work was carried out from 27 to 30 March 1832, giving Charles Darwin the opportunity to examine the wildlife and geology of the islands.

[7] Known to the Royal Navy in the First World War as the Abrolhos Rocks, the area was used as a refuelling point (coal) during Doveton Sturdee's operations against the German cruisers of Admiral Von Spee in late 1914.

[citation needed] The extensive reefs of the island group are an area of rich marine fauna.