:Pinta Island tortoise

File:Chelonoidis abingdonii.jpg

Lonesome George, along with other of the tortoises on Pinta Island, belonged to a species of 15 subspecies. Giant tortoises were once found on all of the continents except Australia and Antarctica. The Galápagos tortoises remain the largest living tortoises.

File:Gunther Albert 1830-1914.png

The Pinta Island tortoise was originally described in 1877 by German-born British herpetologist Albert Günther, who named it Testudo abingdonii in his book The Gigantic Land-tortoises (Living and Extinct) in the Collection of the British Museum.{{cite journal|journal=Vertebrate Zoology|title=Checklist of chelonians of the world|year=2007|first=Uwe|last=Fritz|author2=Havaš, Peter|volume=57|issue=2|page=271|doi=10.3897/vz.57.e30895 |s2cid=87809001 |doi-access=free }}{{cite book|title=The gigantic land tortoises (living and extinct) in the collection of the British Museum|url=https://archive.org/details/giganticlandtor00zoolgoog|first=Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf|last=Günther|location=British Museum, Dept. of Zoology, London|year=1877|publisher=Printed by order of the Trustees}} 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. In 1876, Commander William Cookson{{cite web|url=https://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=1491|title=William Edgar De Crackenthorpe Cookson R.N.|work=William Loney RN — Background (Officers in command)|via=pdavis.nl}} brought three male specimens (along with other subspecies of Galápagos tortoise) to London aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Peterel.{{cite web|title= HMS Peterel|url=https://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=169|work=William Loney RN — Background (Mid-Victorian RN vessels)|via=pdavis.nl}}

File:Cassel's Natural History - Gigantic Land Tortoises from the Galapagos Islands.jpg

Synonyms of Chelonoidis abingdonii include Testudo abingdonii Günther, 1877; Testudo elephantopus abingdonii Mertens & Wermuth, 1955; Geochelone elephantopus abingdonii Pritchard, 1967; Geochelone nigra abingdonii Iverson, 1992; and Geochelone abingdonii Valverde, 2004.{{cite web|url=https://recentlyextinctspecies.com/testudines-turtles-tortoises-terrapins-sliders/chelonoidis-abingdonii|title=Chelonoidis abingdonii (GÜNTHER, 1877)|publisher=The Recently Extinct Plants and Animals Database|access-date=2023-01-22}}

The origin and systematic relationships are still unresolved today; they captivated Charles Darwin himself. DNA sequencing results indicate that the three best candidates for the closest living relative of the Galápagos tortoises all come from South America. They are the yellow-footed tortoise (Geochelone denticulata), the red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria), and the Chaco tortoise (Geochelone chilensis).{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

In the wild, Galápagos tortoises, including the Pinta Island subspecies, rested about 16 hours a day.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} Galápagos tortoises are herbivores, they fed primarily on greens, grasses, native fruit, and cactus pads. They drank large quantities of water, which they could store in their bodies for long periods of time for later use. They can reportedly survive up to six months without food or water.{{harvnb|Caccone|Gibbs|Ketmaier|Suatoni|Powell|1999}}

For breeding, the tortoises were most active during the hot season (January to May). During the cool season (June to November), female tortoises migrated to nesting zones to lay their eggs.

Galápagos giant tortoises represent the top herbivores in the Galápagos, and as such they shape the entire island ecosystem. They provide critical ecosystem services by dispersing seeds{{cite journal|title=Seed dispersal by Galapagos tortoises|author=Stephen Blake|author2=Martin Wikelski|author3=Fredy Cabrera|author4=Anne Guezou|author5=Miriam Silva|author6=E. Sadeghayobi|author7=Charles B. Yackulic|author8=Patricia Jaramillo|year=2012|journal=Journal of Biogeography|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02672.x|volume=39|issue=11|pages=1961–72|bibcode=2012JBiog..39.1961B |s2cid=52209043}} and by acting as ecological engineers through herbivory and nutrient cycling. The extinction of the Pinta Island tortoise has diminished the functioning of the island ecosystem.{{cite journal|last1=Edwards|first1=Danielle|last2=Benavides|first2=Edgar|last3=Garrick|first3=Ryan|title=The genetic legacy of Lonesome George survives: Giant tortoises with Pinta Island ancestry identified in Galápagos|journal=Biological Conservation|date=January 2013|volume=157|doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2012.10.014|pages=225–8|bibcode=2013BCons.157..225E |url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/90d7v370 }}

Several of the surviving subspecies of Galápagos tortoises are endangered. The decline of the population began in the 17th century as a result of visits by buccaneers and whalers. They hunted tortoises as a source of fresh meat, taking about 200,000 tortoises altogether.

In 1958, goats were brought to Pinta Island and began eating much of the vegetation, to the detriment of the natural habitat.{{cite web|url=http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/GalapagosWWW/Pinta.html|title=Galapagos Geology on the Web|publisher=Cornell University|access-date=2023-01-22}}{{cite journal|title=Eradication of feral goats Capra hircus from Pinta Island, Galápagos, Ecuador|author=Karl Campbell|author2=C. Josh Donlan|author3=Felipe Cruz|author4=Victor Carrion|journal=Oryx|volume=38|issue=3|date=July 2004|doi=10.1017/s0030605304000572|doi-broken-date=23 April 2025 |s2cid=247105 |doi-access=free}}

A prolonged effort to exterminate the goats was begun. As the goat populations declined, the vegetation recovered. Small trees began regenerating from the stumps left by the goats. Highland shrub subspecies, forest tree seedlings, Opuntia cactus, and other endemic subspecies increased. In 2003, Pinta Island was declared goat-free.{{cite web|url=http://www.galapagos.org/about_galapagos/lonesome-george/|title=Lonesome George|publisher=Galapagos Conservancy|access-date=2023-01-22}}

In addition to conservation efforts such as the elimination of goat populations in the Galápagos, there has been an effort to revive a number of subspecies of Galápagos tortoise through captive breeding. Future efforts may aim to recreate a population genetically similar to the original Pinta Island tortoise by breeding the first-generation hybrids discovered on Wolf Volcano.

File:Lonesome george.jpg

{{Main|Lonesome George}}

The last known individual of the subspecies was a male named Lonesome George{{cite web|title=Lonesome George faces own Galapagos tortoise curse|first=Simon|last=Gardner|url=http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/9708/newsDate/06-Feb-2001/story.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604055952/http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/9708/newsDate/06-Feb-2001/story.htm|archive-date=2011-06-04|date=2001-02-06|url-status=usurped|access-date=2012-01-11}} ({{langx|es|El Solitario Jorge}}),{{cite web|title=El mundo pierde al solitario George|author=Proceso de Relaciones Públicas de la Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos|url=http://www.galapagospark.org/boletin.php?noticia=628|date=2012-06-24|access-date=2012-06-25|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628014014/http://www.galapagospark.org/boletin.php?noticia=628|archive-date=2012-06-28}} who died on 24 June 2012.{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshowpics/14387262.cms|title=Lonesome George, last-of-his-kind Galapagos tortoise, dies|date=2012-06-25|work=The Times of India|access-date=2023-01-23}}{{cite news|last=Raferty|first=Isolde|title=Lonesome George, last-of-its-kind Galapagos tortoise, dies|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/lonesome-george-last-its-kind-galapagos-tortoise-dies-flna843776|publisher=MSNBC|access-date=2023-01-23}} 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.{{cite book|last=Nicholls|first=Henry|year=2006|title=Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of a Conservation Icon|publisher=Macmillan Science|location=London|isbn=978-1-4039-4576-1}}{{page needed|date=June 2012}}

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 different subspecies. Although the females laid eggs, none hatched. The Pinta tortoise was pronounced functionally extinct.

Over the decades, all attempts at mating Lonesome George were unsuccessful, possibly because his subspecies was not cross-fertile with the other 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{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/giant-tortoise-lonesome-georges-death-leaves-the-world-one-subspecies-poorer|title=Giant tortoise Lonesome George's death leaves the world one subspecies poorer|work=National Post|access-date=2023-01-22}}{{cite web|date=2012-06-25|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-tortoise/lonesome-george-last-of-his-kind-galapagos-tortoise-dies-idUSBRE85N0PI20120625|title=Lonesome George, last-of-his-kind Galapagos tortoise, dies|work=Reuters|author=Alexandra Valencia|author2=Eduardo Garcia|access-date=2023-01-22}} by his caretaker of 40 years, Fausto Llerena.{{cite web|title=Muere el Solitario George, la última tortuga gigante de isla Pinta|url=http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/06/24/1/1447/muere-solitario-george-ultima-tortuga-gigante-isla-pinta.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115034813/http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/06/24/1/1447/muere-solitario-george-ultima-tortuga-gigante-isla-pinta.html|archive-date=2013-01-15|publisher=El Unveriso|access-date=2012-06-24}} Naula suspects that the cause of death was heart failure consistent with the end of the natural life of a tortoise.

Giant tortoises are among the longest-lived vertebrate animals (more than 100 years by some estimates) and have been used as a model for providing insight into longevity.{{cite journal |vauthors=Quesada V, Freitas-Rodríguez S, Miller J, Pérez-Silva JG, Jiang ZF, Tapia W, Santiago-Fernández O, Campos-Iglesias D, Kuderna LF, Quinzin M, Álvarez MG, Carrero D, Beheregaray LB, Gibbs JP, Chiari Y, Glaberman S, Ciofi C, Araujo-Voces M, Mayoral P, Arango JR, Tamargo-Gómez I, Roiz-Valle D, Pascual-Torner M, Evans BR, Edwards DL, Garrick RC, Russello MA, Poulakakis N, Gaughran SJ, Rueda DO, Bretones G, Marquès-Bonet T, White KP, Caccone A, López-Otín C |title=Giant tortoise genomes provide insights into longevity and age-related disease |journal=Nat Ecol Evol |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=87–95 |date=January 2019 |pmid=30510174 |pmc=6314442 |doi=10.1038/s41559-018-0733-x }} DNA analysis of the genomes of Lonesome George and the Aldabra giant tortoise Aldabrachelys gigantea led to the detection of lineage-specific variants affecting DNA repair genes that might contribute to man's understanding of increased lifespans.

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 his shell structure.{{cite journal|url=http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/06-07-28/|title=Is Lonesome George Really Lonesome?|journal=ESKEPTIC: The Email Newsletter of the Skeptics Society|last=Sulloway|first=Frank J.|date=2006-07-28|issn=1556-5696}}{{cite book|last=Nicholls|first=Henry|title=Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of the World's Most Famous Tortoise|year=2007|publisher=Pan Books|location=London|isbn=978-0-330-45011-9 |page=142}} Subsequent DNA analysis, however, revealed that it was more likely to be from Pinzón Island, home of the Chelonoidis Niger Duncanensis subspecies.{{cite journal|last=Russello|first=M. A.|title=Lineage identification of Galápagos tortoises in captivity worldwide|journal=Animal Conservation|year=2007|volume=10|pages=304–311|doi=10.1111/j.1469-1795.2007.00113.x|issue=3|s2cid=85200951|doi-access=free|bibcode=2007AnCon..10..304R }}

Whalers and pirates in 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.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21974-lonesome-george-dies-but-his-subspecies-genes-survive.html|title=Lonesome George dies but his subspecies genes survive|magazine=New Scientist|date=2012-06-26|author=Marshall, Michael}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19426071.300-galapagos-tortoises-untangling-the-evolutionary-threads.html|title=Galapagos tortoises: untangling the evolutionary threads|magazine=New Scientist|date=2007-06-06|author=Nicholls, Henry}}

In May 2007, analysis of genomic microsatellites (DNA sequences) suggested that individuals from a translocated group of C. abingdonii may still exist in the wild on Isabela.{{cite journal|first1=Michael A.|last1=Russello|first2=Luciano B.|last2=Beheregaray|first3=James P.|last3=Gibbs|first4=Thomas|last4=Fritts|first5=Nathan|last5=Havill|author-link5=Nathan Havill|first6=Jeffrey R.|last6=Powell|first7=Adalgisa|last7=Caccone|title=Lonesome George is not alone among Galápagos tortoises|journal=Current Biology|volume=17|issue=9|date=1 May 2007|pages=R317–R318|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2007.03.002|pmid=17470342|s2cid=3055405|doi-access=free|bibcode=2007CBio...17.R317R }} Researchers identified one male tortoise from the Wolf Volcano region that had half its genes in common with George's subspecies. This animal is believed to be a first-generation hybrid between the subspecies of the islands Isabela and Pinta. This suggests the possibility of a pure Pinta tortoise among the 2,000 tortoises on Isabela.{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-05-01/iconic-tortoise-george-may-not-be-last-of-his-kind/2537042|title=Iconic tortoise George may not be last of his kind|date=2007-05-01|agency=Agence France-Presse|website=ABC News|access-date=2023-01-22}}

{{quote|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.}}

A subsequent trip to Isabela by Yale University researchers found 17 first-generation hybrids living at Wolf Volcano. The researchers planned to return to Isabela in the spring of 2013 to look for surviving Pinta tortoises and to try to collect hybrids in an effort to start a captive selective-breeding program and to hopefully reintroduce Pintas back to their native island.

In 2020, the Galápagos national park and Galápagos Conservancy announced that they had discovered one young female with a direct line of descent from the Chelonoidis abingdonii subspecies of Pinta island.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/02/galapagos-experts-find-a-tortoise-related-to-lonesome-george|title=Galápagos experts find a tortoise related to Lonesome George|work=The Guardian|agency=Associated Press|date=2020-02-02|access-date=2023-01-22}}

• Holocene extinction
• List of subspecies of Galápagos tortoise

Notes

{{Reflist|33em}}

Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite journal|title=Origin and evolutionary relationships of giant Galápagos tortoises|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|date=1999-11-09 |pmid=10557302|pages=13223–8|volume=96|issue=23|doi=10.1073/pnas.96.23.13223|first1=Adalgisa|last1=Caccone|first2=James P.|last2=Gibbs|first3=Valerio|last3=Ketmaier|first4=Elizabeth|last4=Suatoni|first5=Jeffrey R.|last5=Powell|pmc=23929|bibcode=1999PNAS...9613223C|doi-access=free}}
• {{Cite journal|title=Tortoise conservation: One of a kind|journal=Nature|date=2004-06-03|issn=0028-0836|pages=498–500|volume=429|issue=6991|doi=10.1038/429498a|pmid=15175722|bibcode=2004Natur.429..498N|first=Henry|last=Nicholls|s2cid=32875557|doi-access=free}}
• [http://www.galapagos.org/about_galapagos/tortoises/ Giant Tortoises] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015205526/http://www.galapagos.org/about_galapagos/tortoises/ |date=2015-10-15 }}, Galapagos Conservancy
• {{cite journal |last1=Milinkovitch |first1=M.C. |last2=Kanitz |first2=R. |last3=Tiedemann |first3=R. |last4=Tapia |first4=W. |last5=Llerena |first5=F. |last6=Caccone |first6=A. |last7=Gibbs |first7=J.P. |last8=Powell |first8=J.R. |title=Recovery of a nearly extinct Galápagos tortoise despite minimal genetic variation |journal=Evol Appl |volume=6 |issue= 2|pages=377–383 |date=2013 |doi=10.1111/eva.12014 |pmid=23467700 |pmc=3586625 |bibcode=2013EvApp...6..377M }}
• {{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2011.12.004|title=Genetic rediscovery of an 'extinct' Galápagos giant tortoise species|year=2012|last1=Garrick|first1=Ryan C.|last2=Benavides|first2=Edgar|last3=Russello|first3=Michael A.|last4=Gibbs|first4=James P.|last5=Poulakakis|first5=Nikos|last6=Dion|first6=Kirstin B.|last7=Hyseni|first7=Chaz|last8=Kajdacsi|first8=Brittney|last9=Márquez |first9=Lady|journal=Current Biology|volume=22|pages=R10–1|pmid=22240469|issue=1|display-authors=4|doi-access=free|bibcode=2012CBio...22..R10G }}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Chelonoidis niger abingdonii}}

• [http://nakeddiscovery.com/scripts/mp3s/audio/Naked_Scientists_Show_06.03.19.mp3 Naked Scientists audio discussion of Lonesome George]
• [http://keralaarticles.blogspot.com/2007/05/lonesome-george.html Article on Lonesome George] The giant tortoise of Galapagos Island.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130114032422/http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/george.html Lonesome George, by Vicky Seal]
• {{cite press release|title=Team of Veterinarians Prepare Hybrid Tortoises for Release on Pinta Island in 2010|publisher=Galapagos Conservancy|date=2010-02-03|url=http://www.galapagos.org/2008/index.php?id=238|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208203521/http://www.galapagos.org/2008/index.php?id=238|archive-date=2010-02-08|url-status=dead}}

{{Named turtles}}

{{Testudinidae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q4045992}}

Category:Chelonoidis

Category:Subspecies

Category:Endemic reptiles of the Galápagos Islands

Category:Extinct animals of South America

Category:Extinct turtles

Category:Reptile extinctions since 1500

Category:Reptiles described in 1877

Category:Taxa named by Albert Günther

Category:Species that are or were threatened by use as food

Category:Species that are or were threatened by invasive species