A study led by a scientist at Newcastle University has reported that a rare species of giant tortoise thought to have died out more than a century go is not actually extinct.
Genetic research has shown a female specimen discovered on one of the Galapagos Islands in 2019 was related to the only previously-known example, found in 1906. There were signs that there may be other tortoises of the same species living with her on Fernandina, an island and pristine wildlife habitat in the Galápagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador.
Scientists sequenced genomes of the previous specimen, known as chelonoidis phantasticus, and the 2019 female, who has since been named Fernanda, and compared them with all living species of Galápagos giant tortoises. They subsequently found that the two were linked and distinct from all others, according to the findings published in Communications Biology.
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The discovery comes after Newcastle University recorded its highest ever global ranking on Wednesday night in the QS World University Rankings. One of the area's where it excelled was the quality and impact of its research, such as this incredible find.
Study lead author Dr Evelyn Jensen, lecturer in molecular ecology at Newcastle University's School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, said: "Only two tortoises have ever been found on Fernandina Island, and here we have shown that they are indeed members of the same species, and different from the other Galapagos tortoises. It is a truly exciting discovery that the species is not in fact extinct, but lives on."
Fernandina is an active volcano at the western side of the Galápagos Islands, which Charles Darwin visited in 1835, inspiring his theory of evolution. The male specimen used in the study was collected by explorer Rollo Beck during an expedition by the California Academy of Sciences in 1906.
Researches believe that Fernanda, who was found in an isolated vegetation patch cut off by lava flows, is around 50 years old and has suffered stunted growth. She is now being kept in captivity in the Galápagos National Park Tortoise Centre. Other expeditions have found signs of at least two or three more tortoises living on the island, with hope that there may be more of Fernanda's species.
Dr Jensen added: "What comes next for the species depends on whether any other living individuals can be found. If there are more Fernandina tortoises, then a breeding programme could start to bolster the population. We hope that Fernanda is not the ‘endling’ of her species."
But right now, Fernanda is in a similar position to Lonesome George, who was famed for being the last of the Pinta Island Galápagos giant tortoises. He lived out his final decades in captivity but never bred, and his species went extinct in 2012 following his death from old age.
More expeditions are planned to search Fernandina's inaccessible interior for tortoise. Meanwhile, Dr Jensen and her colleagues will continue to study how the species fits into the evolutionary history of the Galápagos giant tortoises.
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