DNA analyses revealed an astonishingly large number of tortoises with mixed genetic ancestry in this sample: 89 with DNA from Floreana and 17 with DNA from Pinta. These exciting discoveries led to an expedition on Volcano Wolf in 2008, where we tagged and sampled over 1,600 tortoises. Instead, their DNA matched that of the extinct species from Floreana and Pinta. Some tortoises on Volcano Wolf, on Isabela Island, didn't match others normally found on the volcano ( Chelonoidis becki). Ten years ago our genetic research program made a very surprising discovery.

< p> The Gal& aacute pagos Islands, showing locations mentioned in this story. He was a major conservation icon and at one point considered by Guinness World Records as the world's rarest living creature. The tortoise found only on Pinta Island ( Chelonoidis abingdoni) went formally extinct in 2012, when its last representative, a male held in captivity and nicknamed Lonesome George, died. A combination of poaching by whalers and pirates, and introduced pests competing for food and eating eggs and hatchlings, led to tortoises being exterminated on some islands, and dramatically reduced on others.ĭarwin wrote about the harvesting of the species of tortoise found only on Floreana Island ( Chelonoidis elephantopus), which was exterminated within 15 years of his visit to the Galápagos in 1835. The Galápagos Islands were colonised in the late 1800s.

It may sound like a fool's errand, but our expedition was a success. However, since the arrival of people four species have become extinct.Ī few weeks ago we returned from an expedition to the islands in search of two of these extinct species of tortoises. There were originally 15 species that evolved as the islands formed volcanically. The tortoises once thrived in the archipelago. They are home to an extraordinary array of wildlife, including giant Galápagos tortoises, the world's largest land-living cold-blooded animals. The Galápagos Islands, 1,000 kilometres off the coast of South America, are probably most famous as the place that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Pinta island map