The Galápagos giant tortoise Chelonoidis phantasticus is not extinct
3 institutional releases
Published in Communications Biology · View the paper (DOI)
A giant tortoise from the Fernandina Island species, believed extinct for over a century, has been confirmed alive through genetic sequencing. The discovery opens up new questions about its evolutionary relationship to other Galápagos tortoises and provides hope for conservation efforts.
Coverage from 3 institutions
- ‘Fantastic giant tortoise,’ believed extinct, confirmed alive in the Galápagos Princeton University · Jun 9, 2022 · first to report
- Fernandina Island Galapagos giant tortoise is not extinct Newcastle University · Jun 9, 2022
- Discovery of lonely tortoise doubles known members of “phantasticus” species Yale University · Jul 19, 2022