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 Lonesome George, a Galápagos Tortoise suspected to be the last surviving member of his subspecies.
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| Geochelone nigra abingdoni (Günther, 1877) |
Lonesome George is the name given to the last known individual of the Pinta Island Tortoise, subspecies Geochelone nigra abingdonii, one of 13 subspecies of Galápagos tortoise native to the Galápagos Islands. George was first seen on the island of Pinta on 1 December 1971 by American snail biologist Joseph Vagvolgyi and subsequently tracked down by goat hunters in March 1972. It's thought he was named after the character played by American actor George Gobel. Relocated to the Charles Darwin Research Station, George was penned with two females of a different subspecies, Geochelone nigra becki from Wolf Island, in the hope that his genotype would be retained in the resulting progeny. Unfortunately, these attempts have not been successful to date. George is estimated to be 60-90 years of age, and is in good health. A prolonged effort to exterminate goats introduced to George's island is now complete and the vegetation of the island is starting to return to what it once was. In May 2007, analysis of genomic microsatellites suggested that other individuals of Geochelone nigra abingdoni may still exist. Researchers have identified one tortoise from the neighboring Galapagos island of Isabela which has half his genes in common with George's subspecies. This animal must be a first generation hybrid between the subspecies of the islands Isabela and Pinta. It is possible that a pure Pinta tortoise lives among the 2000 tortoises on Isabela.[1]
External links
- Charles Darwin Research Station Fact Sheet - Pinta giant tortoise (Geochelone abingdoni)
- Naked Scientists MP3 Discussion of Lonesome George
- Article on Lonesome George The Giant Tortoise of Galapagos Island.
References
- ^ "Iconic tortoise George may not be last of his kind", 2007-05-01. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
- Nicholls, H. (2006) Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of a Conservation Icon, Macmillan Science, London, 2006. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/henry/ ISBN 1-4039-4576-4
- Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group 1996. Geochelone nigra ssp. abingdoni. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 May 2006.
- Reuters Limited (2006) "FEATURE-Lonesome George faces own Galapagos tortoise curse"
- http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/9708/newsDate/06-Feb-2001/story.htm
- Michael A. Russello,Luciano B. Beheregaray, James P. Gibbs, Thomas Fritts, Nathan Havill, Jeffrey R. Powell and Adalgisa Caccone. "Lonesome George is not alone among Galápagos tortoises". Current Biology. Volume 17, Issue 9, 1 May 2007, Pages R317-R318.
