New Giant Tortoise Species Found In The Pacific Archipelago
A species of tortoise that was always visible, yet not differentiated, has been located with genetic data that showed that one section of 250 "slowly moving reptiles" were different from the others in the Pacific archipelago.
This species, which lives in a 15-square mile part of Santa Cruz Island is genetically identifiable from those on this island or any other here, according to HNGN.
Scientists had believed that the tortoises on this island were all from the same species. Finding the new one, described in a study reported Oct. 21 in the journal PLOS ONE, will now make everyone give attention to the newly found Eastern Santa Cruz Tortoise (Chelonoidis donfaustoi), according to Dr. James Gibbs, a team member and conservation biologist at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York.
"This is a small and isolated group of tortoises that never attracted much attention from biologists previously," said Gibbs, who took part in the first research expeditions to explore the new species' range and behavior. "But we now know that they are as distinct as any species of tortoise in the archipelago. Their discovery and formal description will help these tortoises receive the scientific and management attention they need to fully recover."
One population of giant tortoises lives on the west side, found in the "Reserve" area, and another on the lower eastern slopes around the "Cerro Fatal" area.
Once, 15 giant tortoise species lived in this area, and of them four are believed to be extinct. While some experts are convinced, Daniel Mulcahy from the Smithsonian said that the "hybridization and the two groups' striking similarities" do not really make him sure about his discoveries, according to the Inquistr.
