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The death of Galápagos tortoise Lonesome George this summertime was thought to mark off the experimental extinction of a race , but a new study hints that the reptilian may not have been the last of his kind after all .
Researchers from Yale University recently trekked to the northern tip of Isabella Island , the largest of the Galápagos , and collect deoxyribonucleic acid from more than 1,600giant tortoise . The genetical sample designate that 17 of these tortoises were hybrids that had a parent likeLonesome Georgefrom the subspeciesChelonoidis abingdoni .
DNA analysis in the Galápagos Islands revealed 17 hybrid tortoises that can trace ancestry to Chelonoidis abingdoni, the species thought to have gone extinct with the death of Lonesome George this summer.
What ’s more , five of those hybrids were juveniles , suggesting purebredC. abingdonitortoises may still be roaming a remote part of the island .
" Our end is to go back this saltation to appear for surviving individual of this coinage and to collect hybrids , " Yale ecology investigator Gisella Caccone said in a statement . " We hope that with a selective training plan , we can reintroduce this tortoise species to its aboriginal place . "
But even if deterrent example ofC. abingdoniare found on Isabella Island , how did they get there ? Lonesome George ’s species is native toPinta Island , 37 mi ( 60 kilometers ) across the seas from the Volcano Wolf field on Isabella Island where the hybrid samples were collect .
These tortoises are massive , reaching nearly 900 British pound sterling ( 408 kilograms ) and almost 6 feet ( 1.8 m ) in length , and the researchers do n’t remember ocean stream contain them between the islands . The squad does distrust , however , that nineteenth - century skimmer did .
Volcano Wolf is nearby Banks Bay , where naval officer and whaler marooned elephantine tortoises picked up from other islands after they were no longer call for for food . investigator have previously discover other hybrid turtles in the region with genic ancestry of another tortoise , C. elephantopus , which was think to be lose . This metal money was native to Floreana Island , where it was hunted to extinction some 150 year ago . But the new evidence hint several phallus must have been brought to Isabella Island , where they pair withC. beckitortoises .
The new findings are detail in the journal Biological Conservation .
