Species of Galápagos tortoise
| Galápagos tortoises | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Chelonoidis nigra skeleton at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Family: | Testudinidae |
| Genus: | Chelonoidis |
| Species: | C. nigra |
| Binomial name | |
|
Chelonoidis nigra (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) |
|
| Synonyms | |
(Harlan, 1827) |
|
(Harlan, 1827)
Chelonoidis nigra (the Galápagos tortoise) is a tortoise species complex endemic to the Galápagos Islands. It includes at least 12, and possibly up to 15, species. Only twelve species now exist: one on each of the islands of Santiago, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Pinzón, and Española; one on each of the five main volcanoes of the largest island, Isabela (Wolf, Darwin, Alcedo, Sierra Negra, and Cerro Azul); and one, abingdoni from Pinta Island, which is considered extinct as of June 24, 2012. The species inhabiting Floreana Island (Chelonoidis nigra) is thought to have been hunted to extinction by 1850, only years after Charles Darwin's landmark visit of 1835 in which he saw carapaces but no live tortoises on the island.
Biological taxonomy is not fixed, and placement of taxa is reviewed as a result of new research. The current categorization of species of Chelonoidis nigra is shown below. Also included are synonyms, which are now discarded duplicate or incorrect namings. Common names are given but may vary, as they have no set meaning.
Conservation status
Most likely Extinct.
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