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Pinta Island tortoise

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Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii
Lonesome George, the last known individual of his subspecies of Galápagos tortoise.
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)[2]
Map of the Galápagos Islands indicating their native subspecies of tortoise

Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii,[2][3] known as the Pinta Island tortoise,[4] Pinta giant tortoise,[2] Abingdon Island tortoise,[1] or Abingdon Island giant tortoise,[2] is 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.

In 1971, it was discovered that the subspecies might have been completely wiped out,[citation needed] with the exception of a single male known as Lonesome George. Efforts were made to mate Lonesome George with other subspecies, but no viable eggs were produced. Lonesome George died on 24 June 2012. The subspecies is believed to have become extinct; however, hope exists about the possibility of finding other individuals outside of Pinta Island.[note 1]

Subspecies naming and range

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][7] 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.[7] In 1876 Commander William Cookson[8] brought three male specimens (along with other subspecies of Galápagos tortoise) to London aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Peterel.[7][9]

Synonyms

Some synonyms of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii are: Testudo abingdonii Günther, 1877; Testudo elephantopus abingdonii – Mertens & Wermuth, 1955; Geochelone elephantopus abingdoni – Pritchard, 1967; Geochelone nigra abingdoni – Iverson, 1992; Geochelone abingdoni – Valverde, 2004.[10][note 2]

Conservation efforts

In 1958 goats were introduced to Pinta Island, eating much of the herbs and shrubs to the detriment of the natural habitat.[11][12] A prolonged effort to exterminate the goats is now complete, and the island's vegetation is starting to return to its former state.[citation needed]

Lonesome George

"Lonesome George" redirects here. For the comedian, see George Gobel. For the musician, see George Thorogood.
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[13] (Spanish: El Solitario Jorge/George),[14] who died on 24 June 2012.[14][15][16] 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.[17]

George was first seen on the island of Pinta on 1 December 1971 by Hungarian malacologist József Vágvölgyi. The island's vegetation had been devastated by introduced feral goats, and the indigenous C. n. abingdonii population had been reduced to a single individual. It is thought that he was named after a character played by American actor George Gobel.[18] 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. This prompted researchers at the Darwin Station to offer a $10,000 reward for a suitable mate.[13]

Until January 2011, George was penned with two females of the subspecies Chelonoidis nigra becki (from the Wolf Volcano region of Isabela Island), in the hope that his genotype would be retained in any resulting progeny. This subspecies was then thought to be genetically closest to George's; however, any potential offspring would have been intergrades, not purebreds of the Pinta subspecies.[19]

In July 2008, George mated with one of his female companions. Thirteen eggs were collected and placed in incubators.[20] On 11 November 2008, the Charles Darwin Foundation reported 80% of the eggs showed weight loss characteristic of being inviable.[20][21] By December 2008, the remaining eggs had failed to hatch and x-rays showed they were inviable.[22]

On 21 July 2009, exactly one year after announcing George had mated, the Galápagos National Park announced one of George's female companions had laid a second clutch of five eggs.[23] The park authority expressed its hope for the second clutch of eggs, which it said were in perfect condition.[24] The eggs were moved to an incubator, but on 16 December, it was announced the incubation period had ended and the eggs were inviable (as was a third batch of six eggs laid by the other female).[25]

In November 1999, scientists reported Lonesome George was "very closely related to tortoises" from Española Island (C. n. hoodensis) and San Cristóbal Island (C. n. chathamensis).[26] On 20 January 2011, two individual C. n. hoodensis female partners were imported to the Charles Darwin Research Station, where George lived.[27]

A reward of $10,000 was offered by the Ecuadorean government for the discovery of a suitable female to help save the subspecies.[28]

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[29][30][31] by his caretaker of 40 years, Fausto Llerena.[32] Naula suspects that the cause of death was heart failure consistent with the end of the natural life cycle of a tortoise. A necropsy is planned to determine an official cause of death.[33] He was believed to be more than 100 years old.[34]

Possible remaining individuals

Prague Zoo

In 2006, Peter Pritchard, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Galápagos tortoises, suggested that a male tortoise residing in the Prague Zoo might be a Pinta Island tortoise due to its shell structure.[35][36] Subsequent DNA analysis, however, revealed it was more likely to be from Pinzón Island, home of the subspecies Chelonoidis nigra duncanensis.[2][36][37]

Isabela Island

Whalers and sea 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[38][39] 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.[40] 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.[40] A pure Pinta tortoise possibly lives among the 2,000 tortoises on Isabela.[41]

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.[40]

  • Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Station
    Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Station
  • Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Station
    Lonesome George at the Charles Darwin Research Station
  • A dead specimen photographed in 1914.
    A dead specimen photographed in 1914.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The subspecies is believed to have become extinct with the death of "Lonesome George" in June 2012.[6] The IUCN lists the tortoise as "extinct in the wild".[1] In addition, a first-generation descendant has been found at Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island.[6]
  2. ^ The dashes indicate that the author was not naming a new species or subspecies, but instead was only creating a new combination of genus and species or subspecies.

References

  1. ^ a b c Template:IUCN2012.1
  2. ^ a b c d e van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Bour, Roger; Rhodin, Anders G. J. (2011). "Turtles of the World, 2011 Update: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status". In Rhodin, Anders G.J.; Pritchard, Peter C. H.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Saumure, Raymond A.; Buhlmann, Kurt A.; Iverson, John B.; Mittermeier, Russell A. (eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises. Chelonian Research Monographs, Number 5. p. 000.197. doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v4.2011. OCLC 472656069.
  3. ^ a b Fritz, Uwe (2007). "Checklist of chelonians of the world". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 271. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Reynolds, Robert P.; Marlow, Ronald W. (1983). "Lonesome George, the Pinta Island Tortoise: A Case of Limited Alternatives". Noticias de Galápagos. 37. Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Isles: 14–7.
  5. ^ Template:IUCN2012.1
  6. ^ a b Jones, Bryony (25 June 2012). "Lonesome George, last of the Pinta Island tortoises, dies". CNN. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  7. ^ a b c G̀eunther, Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf (1877). The gigantic land tortoises (living and extinct) in the collection of the British Museum. British Museum, Dept. of Zoology, London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ "Biography of William Edgar De Crackenthorpe Cookson R.N."
  9. ^ "mid-Victorian RN vessels HMS Peterel".
  10. ^ "Chelonoidis abingdonii (GÜNTHER, 1877)". The Reptile Database.
  11. ^ "Galapagos Geology on the Web". Cornell University.
  12. ^ Eradication of feral goats Capra hircus from Pinta Island, Galápagos, Ecuador
  13. ^ a b Gardner, Simon (6 February 2001). "Lonesome George faces own Galapagos tortoise curse". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  14. ^ a b Proceso de Relaciones Públicas de la Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos (24 June 2012). "El mundo pierde al solitario George". Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  15. ^ "Lonesome George, last-of-his-kind Galapagos tortoise, dies". 25 June 2012.
  16. ^ Raferty, Isolde. "Lonesome George, last-of-its-kind Galapagos tortoise, dies". MSNBC. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
  17. ^ Nicholls, Henry (2006). Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of a Conservation Icon. London: Macmillan Science. ISBN 1-4039-4576-4.[page needed]
  18. ^ Chambers, Paul (2004). A Sheltered Life: The Unexpected History of the Giant Tortoise. Oxford University Press. p. 246. ISBN 978-0719565298.
  19. ^ "Joy at giant tortoise eggs". BBC. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  20. ^ a b "Dwindling Hopes of Offspring from Lonesome". Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands. November 11, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  21. ^ "Galapagos bachelor tortoise struggles to be a dad". CBC. November 11, 2008. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  22. ^ Gray, Louise (5 December 2008). "Lonesome George's first sex in decades ends in disappointment". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  23. ^ "New eggs spark Galapagos tortoise hopes". WA Today. July 22, 2009. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  24. ^ Tran, Mark (22 July 2009). "Lonesome George, the last Galápagos giant tortoise, may become a dad". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  25. ^ "Eggs from Lonesome George's Companion are Infertile, Once Again" (Press release). Galapagos Conservancy. December 16, 2009. Archived from the original on November 8, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2012. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ Caccone, Adalgisa; Gibbs, James P.; Ketmaier, Valerio; Suatoni, Elizabeth; Powell, Jeffrey R. (1999). "Origin and evolutionary relationships of giant Galápagos tortoises". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 96 (23): 13223–8. Bibcode:1999PNAS...9613223C. doi:10.1073/pnas.96.23.13223. JSTOR 49147. PMC 23929. PMID 10557302.
  27. ^ "Will Lonesome George finally find a mate?". The Telegraph. January 21, 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  28. ^ Vidal, John (25 June 2012). "Farewell to Lonesome George, who never came out of his shell". Guardian. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  29. ^ "Lonesome George, last of the Pinta Island tortoises, dies". CNN. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  30. ^ "Giant tortoise Lonesome George's death leaves the world one subspecies poorer". nationalpost.com. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  31. ^ "Lonesome George, last-of-his-kind Galapagos tortoise, dies". IBN Live. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  32. ^ "Muere el Solitario George, la última tortuga gigante de isla Pinta". El Unveriso. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  33. ^ "El solitario George murió esta madrugada" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2012. Naula estima que el fallecimiento se debió a un paro del corazón, propio de que la tortuga ya habría cumplido su ciclo de vida. No obstante, se esperará hasta el resultado de la necropsia para determinar oficialmente qué generó el deceso.
  34. ^ Jones, Bryony (25 June 2012). "Lonesome George, last of the Pinta Island tortoises, dies". CNN. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  35. ^ Sulloway, Frank J. (July 28, 2006). "Is Lonesome George Really Lonesome?". eSkeptic. ISSN 1556-5696. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  36. ^ a b Nicholls, Henry (2007). "8". Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of the World's Most Famous Tortoise. London: Pan. ISBN 0330450115.
  37. ^ Russello, M. A. (2007). "Lineage identification of Galápagos tortoises in captivity worldwide". Animal Conservation. 10: 304–311. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  38. ^ Michael Marshall (26 June 2012). "Lonesome George dies but his subspecies genes survive". New Scientist. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  39. ^ Henry Nicholls (6 June 2007). "Galapagos tortoises: untangling the evolutionary threads". New Scientist. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  40. ^ a b c Russello, Michael A.; Beheregaray, Luciano B.; Gibbs, James P.; Fritts, Thomas; Havill, Nathan; Powell, Jeffrey R.; Caccone, Adalgisa (1 May 2007). "Lonesome George is not alone among Galápagos tortoises" (PDF). Current Biology. 17 (9): R317–R318. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.03.002. PMID 17470342. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  41. ^ "Iconic tortoise George may not be last of his kind". ABC News. Agence France-Presse. May 1, 2007. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
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