A giant tortoise that has long been thought to be extinct has been confirmed to be alive in the Galapagos Islands by an extraordinary discovery.
The tortoise, named Fernanda at home on the island of Fernandina, is the first of its kind to be identified in more than a century.
The existence of the giant tortoise on Fernandina Island – or “the fantastic giant tortoise” as it is also known – was discovered in 1906, when a single specimen was collected.
In 2019, a new discovery by an unusual female tortoise living on the island hinted to scientists that the species lived. They had to sequence the entire genome of the turtle and compare it to the original specimen to confirm that the species had not actually disappeared.
A specimen collected in 1906 helped scientists determine the species of tortoise found on Fernandina Island.
(Galapagos Conservancy)
Princeton geneticist Stephen Gogran successfully extracted DNA from a 1906 specimen and confirmed that the living Fernanda and the 1906 tortoise are members of the same species and are genetically different from all other Galapagos tortoises.
“Like many people, my initial suspicion was that this was not a local turtle on Fernandina Island,” Mr Gogran said.
Describing his discovery, he added: “Honestly, to our surprise, we saw that Fernanda was very similar to the one found on this island more than 100 years ago, and both were very different from all the other islands. turtles. ”
The tortoise won its status as “fantastic” because of the exceptional shape of the shells of males, which have an exceptional protrusion on the outer edge. Fernanda, the newly discovered animal, is thought to be more than 50 years old, but she is too young for her age, probably because the island’s limited vegetation has slowed her growth.
Senior author of the article, which reveals the new species, Adalgisa Caccone, said: “Finding a living specimen gives hope and also opens new questions, because there are still many mysteries.
“Are there any more Fernandina tortoises that can be returned to captivity to start a breeding program?” How do turtles colonize Fernandina and what is their evolutionary connection with other giant Galapagos turtles? This also shows the importance of using museum collections to understand the past.
A stream of convincing evidence suggested that the giant tortoises could still live on Fernandina Island, an active volcano in the Galapagos Islands.
More recently, traces of at least two or three other turtles have been found during expeditions to the island.
Add Comment