By: CBS News
Scientists have found a giant tortoise on the Galápagos Islands from a species thought to have gone extinct more than 100 years ago.
Genetic tests match the single female tortoise to the species Chelonoidis phantasticus, Ecuador s Ministry of the Environment and Water confirmed Tuesday. A team of geneticists from Yale University compared samples from the female to the remains of a male to make the connection.
Scientists hadn t spotted one of the tortoises since 1906. Populations of giant tortoises have been devastated by both hunting and volcanic eruptions. It was believed to have gone extinct more than 100 years ago! We have reconfirmed its existence, Environment Minister Gustavo Manrique tweeted. Hope is intact.
Giant tortoise thought to be extinct more than 100 years ago found in Galapagos
By Stephanie Weaver
There was a very special celebration for a tortoise at a Pennsylvania zoo over the weekend.
Ecuador - A team of scientists has found a giant tortoise from a species thought to have gone extinct more than 100 years ago, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
After two years, a team from Ecuador s Ministry of the Environment and Water and the Galapagos Conservancy organization found an adult female giant tortoise on Fernandina Island, the third-largest island of the Galápagos Islands.
A team of researchers at Yale University compared the DNA of the tortoise with another specimen extracted in 1906.
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