Tag Archive for 'Giant tortoise'

Top - Madagascar, from left to right: Aldabrachelys abrupta, Aldabrachelys grandidieri, Pyxis planicauda, Pyxis arachnoides, Astrochelys rogerbouri (new species), Astrochelys yniphora, and Astrochelys radiata. Center - Granitic Seychelles (extinct), Aldabra, Aldabrachelys gigantea. Bottom - Mascarenes, from left to right: Cylindraspis indica (Réunion), Cylindraspis inepta, Cylindraspis triserrata (both Mauritius), Cylindraspis vosmaeri, and Cylindraspis peltastes (both Rodrigues). Image credit: Michal Rössler / Massimo Delfino.

Ancient DNA Study Elucidates Lost World of Indian Ocean Giant Tortoises

Jan 16, 2023 by News Staff

Before humans arrived, giant tortoises occurred on many islands in the western Indian Ocean. In new research, Professor Uwe Fritz from the Senckenberg...

The Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea). Image credit: Dennis Hansen, Universität Zürich.

Scientists Sequence Chromosome-Level Genome of Aldabra Giant Tortoise

Oct 12, 2022 by News Staff

Researchers have for the first time assembled the high-quality chromosome-level genome of the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea), one of only...

Fernanda, the only known living Fernandina giant tortoise (Chelonoidis phantasticus), now lives at the Galápagos National Park’s Giant Tortoise Breeding Center on Santa Cruz Island. Image credit: Galápagos Conservancy.

Fernandina Island Tortoise Is Not Extinct, New Study Confirms

Jun 10, 2022 by News Staff

The status of the Fernandina Island Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis phantasticus) has been a mystery, with the species known from a single specimen...

Chelonoidis abingdonii. Image credit: Quesada et al, doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0733-x.

Giant Tortoise Genomes Provide Insights into Gigantism, Longevity and Age-Related Disease

Dec 5, 2018 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of researchers from Yale University, the University of Oviedo in Spain, the Galapagos Conservancy, and the Galapagos National Park Service has sequenced...