Galapagos tortoise found alive is from species thought extinct

[muriel_volestrangler]

Genetic tests have confirmed that a giant tortoise found on the Galápagos Islands is from a species which scientists thought had died out more than a century ago.
...
That sighting was made by scientists from the California Academy of Sciences who sailed to the Galápagos Islands to carry out comprehensive survey of their flora and fauna.

They took back the male specimen to the academy's herpetology department and it was samples from there that allowed geneticists from Yale University to determine 115 years later that the female found in 2019 is indeed a Chelonoidis phantasticus, also known as Fernandina giant tortoise.
...
Scientists have found prints and faeces on Fernandina Island which they think indicate that there are more individuals of the species left in the wild.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-57253471

Let's hope there are others there, otherwise taking the last male away, while there was a female in the wild, would have been a really bad move.

[Polybius]

1. The article was a little confusing

First it said "The single female was discovered during a 2019 expedition to Fernandina Island." Then it said "They took back the male specimen..." So did they find two in the past two years? Or did they mistake the sex in the article?

In any way, I'm so glad they are not extinct! Hope many more are out there!

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Possibly my choice of paragraphs to quote

"They took back the male specimen..." refers to 1906 scientists from the California Academy of Sciences.