'Fantastic giant tortoise' collected in 1906 (IMAGE)

Princeton University

'Fantastic giant tortoise' collected in 1906

Caption

The Fernandina Island Galápagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis phantasticus, or “fantastic giant tortoise”) was known only from this single specimen, collected in 1906, before "Fernanda" was found in 2019. Now, Princeton geneticist Stephen Gaughran has successfully extracted DNA from this specimen and confirmed that Fernanda and this individual are members of the same species and genetically distinct from all other Galápagos tortoises.

Credit

Courtesy of the California Academy of Sciences

Usage Restrictions

Editorial use only

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.