A elephantine tortoise race presumed nonextant for more than 150 years is actually roaming the Galápagos islands today according to deoxyribonucleic acid grounds , scientist report .
They have n’t actually set eye on the Chelonoidis elephantopus . But DNA sequences pack from another Galápagos subspecies , C. becki , show they are hybrid of the presumably extinct turtle , meaning it must have been one of the living tortoises ’ parent . The scientists , who published their work in the January 10 issue ofCurrent Biologysay this is the first clip an animal has been rediscovered by tracking “ genetic footprints . ”
Galápagos tortoises strongly work Charles Darwin ’s thoughts on phylogenesis and natural selection when he visited the islands in 1835 . But the C. elephantopus , which was aboriginal to Floreana island , was usurp to be out in short after that . Scientists led by Ryan Garrick from Yale University discover the young on Isabela Island ’s Wolf Volcano , plate to about 7,000 tortoise . They say the C. elephantopus probably hop islands on a pirate or whaling ship .
There are likely so few purebred C. elephantopus tortoises stay that researchers would be unbelievably lucky to recover one . Typically , scientists dismay crossing because it mean few purebreds . But these direct dead person of this particular “ out ” race could still be the key to their conservation through intense targeted fosterage .
Galápagos tortoise are unbelievable : they can consider almost 900 pounds , develop to nearly six foot , and live for more than 100 years . But many of the 13 remaining race are peril . Lonesome Georgeis 100 years old and considered by researchers to be the last of his kind and likely the rarest animal in the world . Personally I ca n’t expect at his picture without getting a little misty . That face ! So it ’s highly exciting that a elephantine tortoise think to have been lose forever is still awake . George might still be alone in his race , but he may be a little less lonely than we think .
[ Current Biology ]
ikon : Flickr / putneymark
AnimalsBiologyCharles DarwinconservationEvolutionNatural SelectionScience
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