‘Extinct’ tortoise reappears after 150 years

Scientists have discovered genetic traces of a giant tortoise species that had supposedly been extinct for the past 150 years.

According to Yale University biologists Ryan Garrick and Edgar Benavides, who published a paper in yesterday's Current Biology: “To our knowledge, this is the first rediscovery of a species by way of tracking the genetic footprints left in the genomes of its hybrid offspring."

The tortoises inhabit the Galapagos islands, where Charles Darwin famously formulated his Theory of Natural Selection in 1835.

Due to hunting by pirates and whaling ships, the tortoises - Chelonoidis elephantopus - were declared extinct shortly after Darwin's trip, but it has been discovered after a genetic survey of 2,000 C. becki tortoises that 84 of the animals tested have at least one parent that is a seemingly extinct Chelonoidis elephantopus.

Sadly, none of the purebreds were spotted during the trip but the researchers estimate that around 40 still survive. We've no idea how they came up with that estimate but 40 seems like a nice round number.

“It shows you it’s never really too late to stop protecting a species,” said Dr Garrick on the paper's findings. “Just a couple of years ago we thought these tortoises were extinct.”