Nature & Environment

New species of Galapagos giant tortoise found

By T.K. Randall
October 22, 2015 ·  4 comments

Tortoises on the Galapagos can grow over 4ft long. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 Andy Mitchell The 15th unique species of tortoise to have been found on the islands ( of which four are extinct ), the new find has been named Chelonoidis donfaustoi after a retired park ranger.

It was discovered after scientists analyzed genetic data from a group of 250 slow-moving tortoises on Santa Cruz island which later turned out to be distinct from all the other giant tortoise species.

Having been famously studied in great detail by British naturalist Charles Darwin during his travels to the Galapagos, the giant tortoises are perhaps the best known of all the creatures on the islands with thousands of visitors traveling to the region every year to see them up close.


Source: BBC News | Comments (4)

Tags: Galapagos, Tortoise