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| quite shy, but a survivor nonetheless; AFP |
FLASH--An expedition to the Galapagos island of Fernandina has found a living adult female tortoise of a species,
Chelonoidis phantastica, thought to be extinct for a century. The discovery was announced yesterday by the Ecuadorian minister for the environment, Marcelo Mata. An American environmental organization, Galapagos Conservancy, organized the expedition that found the tortoise; it is endemic only to the island of Fernandia. The isolated Galapagos archipelago is world famous for its unique flora and fauna, which inspired Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution by natural selection. Ten giant tortoise species inhabit the islands including those considered extinct. Scientists think that an ancestor arrived 3 to 4 million years ago and was dispersed by marine currents to different islands where it adapted to unique habitats on each island, creating diverse species. Galapagos tortoises owe their longevity to genetic capacity to permanently repair their DNA. Tortoises as old as 150 years have successfully reproduced in captivity.
