For 112 years, the Fernandina giant tortoise (Chelonoidis phantasticus), native to the Galapagos island of Fernandina, was thought to be extinct and believed to have been wiped out by volcanic eruptions from Fernandina Volcano. Now, DNA analysis from Yale University revealed that a female specimen discovered in 2019 during a joint expedition of the Galapagos National Park Directorate and the Galapagos Conservancy, nicknamed “Fernanda,” is the as-of-now lone representative of her species of giant tortoise.
To confirm Fernanda’s identity, her blood samples were compared to the only other known specimen that scientists had found on Fernandina island, a male specimen of Chelonoidis phantasticus discovered back in 1906. The researchers then determined that Fernanda was closely related to the male specimen, and that the two were of the same species.
The very same expedition back in 2019 also discovered traces of at least two other individuals, possibly from the same species as Fernanda. The scientists hope that in discovering another male, they can attempt to unite it with Fernanda at the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center in Galapagos National Park, Santa Cruz to encourage their breeding. Once successful, conservationists will raise the young in captivity then release them back to Fernandina Island. “Rediscovering this lost species may have occurred just in the nick of time to save it,” Dr. James Gibbs, vice president of Science and Conservation at the Galápagos Conservancy and tortoise expert at the State University of New York, said in the official statement. “We now urgently need to complete the search of the island to find other tortoises.”
Conservationists and researchers are hoping to avoid the fate of Lonesome George, a Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdoni) that died at around 100 years old back in 2012, sealing the fate of his species. Danny Rueda Córdova, director of the Galápagos National Park Directorate, said that their team, together with the team from the Galapagos Conservancy, are planning a series of major expeditions to return to Fernandina Island starting September to search for more individuals from Fernanda’s species.
Bibliography
- Galapagos Conservancy. (2021, May 25). “Extinct” for 112 Years: Galapagos Giant Tortoise Rediscovery Confirmed. Galapagos Conservancy. Retrieved August 23, 2021, from https://www.galapagos.org/newsroom/extinct-for-112-years-galapagos-giant-tortoise-rediscovery-confirmed/
- Saplakoglu, Y. (2021, May 31). Giant tortoise thought extinct for a century discovered on Galapagos island. LiveScience. Retrieved August 23, 2021, from https://www.livescience.com/lost-tortoise-galapagos-extinct-century-ago.html
