New giant tortoise species found in Galapagos after DNA study

A new giant tortoise has been discovered in the Galapagos after testing found that animals on one island had not been recorded.

Researchers compared the genetic material of tortoises currently living on San Cristobal with bones and shells collected in 1906 from a cave in the island's highlands and found them to be different.

Almost 8,000 tortoises correspond to a different type of tortoise, because the 20th-century explorers never reached the lowlands northeast of the island.

The species of giant tortoise that lives on San Cristobal Island is genetically similar to another species, according to the ministry.

According to a newsletter from the Galapagos Conservancy, the island has two different types of tortoise, one living in the highlands and the other in the lowlands.

The Galapagos Islands are a protected wildlife area and home to a unique species of flora and fauna.

Charles Darwin made the archipelago famous for his observations on evolution.

Three of the original 15 giant tortoise species on the islands have become extinct.

A specimen of the extinct species was found on Fernandina Island in 2019.

The study was published in the scientific journal Heredity and was done by researchers from the universities of Britain and the United States.

The tortoises living on San Cristobal, which is 557 kilometers long, should be given a new name if more DNA is recovered from their bones and shells.

Journal information: Heredity

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