Pinta Island tortoise

Pinta Island tortoise
Lonesome George, the last known individual of his subspecies of Galápagos tortoise, died in June of 2012.
Conservation status
Most likely Extinct
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Chelonoidis
Species:	C. nigra
Subspecies:	C. n. abingdonii
Trinomial name
Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii (Günther, 1877)[1]
Map of the Galápagos Islands indicating their native subspecies of tortoise

The Pinta Island tortoise^[2] (Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii^[1][3]), also known as the Pinta giant tortoise,^[1] Abingdon Island tortoise,^[4] or Abingdon Island giant tortoise,^[1] was a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise native to Ecuador's Pinta Island.^[5]

The subspecies was described by Albert Günther in 1877 after specimens arrived in London. By the end of the 19th century, most of the Pinta Island tortoises had been wiped out due to hunting.^[6] By the mid-20th century, it was assumed that the subspecies was extinct until a single male was discovered on the island in 1971. Efforts were made to mate the male, named Lonesome George, with other subspecies, but no viable eggs were produced. Lonesome George died on 24 June 2012 and the subspecies was believed to have become extinct with the death of Lonesome George.^[7] However, 17 first-generation hybrids have been found at Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island during a recent trip by Yale University researchers. As these specimens are juveniles, their parents may still be alive.^[8]

Subspecies naming

Albert Günther, who described Testudo abingdonii in 1877.

This subspecies was originally described in 1877 by German-born British herpetologist Albert Günther, who named it Testudo abingdonii, a new species, in his book The Gigantic Land-tortoises (Living and Extinct) in the Collection of the British Museum.^[3][9] The name, abingdonii, derives from Abingdon Island, now more commonly known as Pinta Island. The knowledge of its existence was derived from short statements of the voyages of Captain James Colnett in 1798 and Basil Hall in 1822.^[9] In 1876 Commander William Cookson^[10] brought three male specimens (along with other subspecies of Galápagos tortoise) to London aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Peterel.^[9][11]

Synonyms

Some synonyms of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii are: Testudo abingdonii Günther, 1877; Testudo elephantopus abingdonii – Mertens & Wermuth, 1955; Geochelone elephantopus abingdonii – Pritchard, 1967; Geochelone nigra abingdonii – Iverson, 1992; Geochelone abingdonii – Valverde, 2004.^{[12][note 1]}

Conservation efforts

In 1958 goats were introduced to Pinta Island, eating much of the herbs and shrubs to the detriment of the natural habitat.^[13][14] A prolonged effort to exterminate the goats is now complete, and the island's vegetation is starting to return to its former state.

Lonesome George

Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Station, photograph taken in December 2006

The last known individual of the subspecies was a male named Lonesome George^[15] (Spanish: El Solitario Jorge/George),^[16] who died on 24 June 2012.^[16][17][18] In his last years, he was known as the rarest creature in the world. George served as a potent symbol for conservation efforts in the Galápagos and internationally.^[19]

George was first seen on the island of Pinta on 1 December 1971 by Hungarian malacologist József Vágvölgyi. Relocated for his safety to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, George was penned with two females of a different subspecies. Although eggs were produced, none hatched. The Pinta tortoise was pronounced functionally extinct as George was in captivity.

Over the decades, all attempts at mating Lonesome George had been unsuccessful, possibly due to the lack of females of his own subspecies.

On 24 June 2012, at 8:00 am local time, Director of the Galápagos National Park Edwin Naula announced that Lonesome George had been found dead^[20][21][22] by his caretaker of 40 years, Fausto Llerena.^[23] Naula suspects that the cause of death was heart failure consistent with the end of the natural life cycle of a tortoise.

Possible remaining individuals

Prague Zoo

In 2006, Peter Pritchard, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Galapagos tortoises, suggested that a male tortoise residing in the Prague Zoo might be a Pinta Island tortoise due to its shell structure.^[24][25] Subsequent DNA analysis, however, revealed it was more likely to be from Pinzón Island, home of the subspecies Chelonoidis nigra duncanensis.^[1][25][26]

Isabela Island

Whalers and pirates of the past used Isabela Island, the central and largest of the Galápagos Islands, as a tortoise dumping ground. Today, the remaining tortoises that live around Wolf Volcano have combined genetic markers from several subspecies.^[27][28] In May 2007, analysis of genomic microsatellites (DNA sequences) suggested that individuals from a translocated group of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii may still exist in the wild on Isabela.^[29] Researchers have identified one male tortoise from the Volcano Wolf region which has half his genes in common with George's subspecies. This animal must be a first generation intergrade between the subspecies of the islands Isabela and Pinta.^[29] A pure Pinta tortoise possibly lives among the 2,000 tortoises on Isabela.^[30]

The identification of eight individuals of mixed ancestry among only 27 individuals sampled (estimated Volcano Wolf population size 1,000–2,000)… suggests the need to mount an immediate and comprehensive survey… to search for additional individuals of Pinta ancestry.^[29]

A recent trek to Isabela by Yale University researchers revealed that there are 17 first-generation hybrids living at Wolf Volcano.^[8] The researchers plan on returning to Isabela in the spring of 2013 to look for surviving Pinta and to try and collect hybrids in an effort to start a captive selective breeding program and to hopefully re-introduce Pintas back to their native island.^[8]

Gallery

• 

  Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Station

• 

  Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Station in December of 2011

• 

  Dead specimen photographed in 1914

See also

• Subspecies of Galápagos tortoise

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni.

• Naked Scientists audio discussion of Lonesome George
• Article on Lonesome George The giant tortoise of Galapagos Island.
• Lonesome George, by Vicki Seal
• "Team of Veterinarians Prepare Hybrid Tortoises for Release on Pinta Island in 2010" (Press release). Galapagos Conservancy. February 3, 2010. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. 
• Garrick, Ryan C.; Benavides, Edgar; Russello, Michael A.; Gibbs, James P. et al. (2012). "Genetic rediscovery of an 'extinct' Galápagos giant tortoise species". Current Biology 22 (1): R10–1. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.12.004. PMID 22240469. 

Tortoise family of turtles (Testudinidae) Genus Species of the tortoise family Aldabrachelys Aldabra giant tortoise Astrochelys Angonoka tortoise Radiated tortoise Chelonoidis Yellow-footed tortoise Chaco tortoise Galápagos tortoise Red-footed tortoise Chersina Angulate tortoise Centrochelys African spurred tortoise Cylindraspis† Domed Mauritius giant tortoise† Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise† Réunion giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise† Geochelone Burmese star tortoise Indian star tortoise Gopherus Bolson tortoise Desert tortoise Gopher tortoise Sonoran Desert tortoise Texas tortoise Homopus Common padloper Nama padloper Karoo padloper Greater padloper Speckled padloper Indotestudo Elongated tortoise Forsten's tortoise Travancore tortoise Kinixys Bell's hinge-back tortoise Forest hinge-back tortoise Home's hinge-back tortoise Lobatse hinge-back tortoise Natal hinge-back tortoise Speke's hinge-back tortoise Malacochersus Pancake tortoise Manouria Asian forest tortoise Impressed tortoise Psammobates Geometric tortoise Serrated tortoise Tent tortoise Pyxis Flat-backed spider tortoise Spider tortoise Stigmochelys Leopard tortoise Testudo Hermann's tortoise Kleinmann's tortoise Marginated tortoise Russian tortoise Spur-thighed tortoise Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2012 update: annotated checklist. Key: †=extinct.