Skip to main content

New Specie of Tortoise discovered

Image copyrightReutersImage captionThe new species "Chelonoidis donfaustoi" was named after a long-time Galapagos park ranger

Scientists say they have identified a new species of giant tortoise on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific.

They used genetic data to determine that a group of 250 slow-moving reptiles was distinct from another tortoise species on Santa Cruz island.

It is the 15th known tortoise species to be discovered on the archipelago, though four are now extinct.

The new species has been named "Chelonoidis donfaustoi", after a retired Galapagos park ranger.

Giant tortoises in the Galapagos tend to weigh up to 250kg and live longer than 100 years.

ADVERTISEMENT

Experts had long believed that the two giant tortoise populations on the Santa Cruz island were the same species, but genetic testing proved this to be wrong, Ecuador's environment ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The newly-identified species, which is also known as the Eastern Santa Cruz tortoise, lives on the eastern side of the island and was also found to be genetically different from tortoises on other islands.

Yale University biologist Gisella Caccione, who led the team of scientists, said the shell of the tortoises had a more compressed shape than other species.

Scientists and conservationists are hoping the discovery will help to protect and restore the tortoise, which is considered vulnerable, with an estimated population of 250.

There are believed to be more than 2,000 tortoises of other tortoise species living elsewhere on the island.

Giant tortoises were among some of the well-known creatures studied closely by British naturalist Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands in the 1830s

Popular posts from this blog

CNN Poll: Judging the Supreme Court

- As the Supreme Court gets ready to issue opinions on some high profile and contentious cases, a new national poll indicates Americans are split on whether the high court is doing a good job. According to a CNN/ORC International survey released Thursday morning, 48% of the public say they approve of the job the Supreme Court's doing, with an equal amount saying they disapprove. There is, however, an ideological divide. Fifty-three percent of liberals and 58% of moderates, but only 37% of conservatives, say that they approve of the court. "That's probably a reaction to last year's decision on Barack Obama's health care law," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. In a closely watched ruling, the court upheld the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, last June. "Before that ruling, most conservatives supported the Supreme Court, compared to only 44% of liberals. Now, most liberals approve of the court, with most co...
Read more

Who are the Niger Delta Avengers?

(Franks.) With a name that sounds like it has come from the pages of a superhero comic book, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is the latest militant group to emerge in Nigeria – attacking oil installations in a campaign which threatens the economy of Africa’s most populous state. “We are a group of educated and well-travelled individuals that are poised to take the Niger Delta struggle to new heights that has never been seen in this nation before,” the NDA proclaimed in one of their first statement’s on their website in April. “We have well-equipped human resources to meet this goal.” It was not an idle threat. The NDA has carried out a barrage of attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region, causing a huge decline in oil production, which is the mainstay of the West African state’s economy. “The renewed activities of the militants in the Niger Delta are seriously affecting our oil production,” Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun admitted on state-owned NTA tele...
Read more

About 250 secondary school students in FGC Ekiti have been strangely hospitalized.

About 250 students of the Federal Government Girls’ College in Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State, have been infected with an outbreak of a disease suspected to be cholera.  Although some of the students affected were treated and discharged, a good number were still undergoing treatment in the hospital.  There were reports that parents had started rushing to retrieve their wards from the school as news of the epidemic became widespread on Thursday.  PREMIUM TIMES learnt that signs were noticed on October 10, when some students showed symptoms of the infection.  Although the school principal, Grace Ogunyomi, reported the matter to the state government, no immediate action beyond the routine medical attention was provided.  It was gathered that the students were infected in small numbers, but the matter escalated on Wednesday, resulting in government action, after the principal, Mrs. Ogunyomi, made a formal report.  Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, imm...
Read more