Believed to be extinct for more than a century, a rare species of giant tortoise is in fact still alive.
The species is better known as the ‘fantastic giant tortoise’ and is native to the Galápagos Fernandina island.
But in 2019, Princeton researchers discovered a lone female tortoise on the island that hinted that the species might live on.
Giant tortoises can weigh as much as 417 kg and can grow up to 1.3m.
There are 14 different species of giant Galápagos tortoise, all descended from a single ancestor - and all listed on the IUCN Red List as either vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered or extinct.
"The finding of one alive specimen gives hope and also opens up new questions, as many mysteries still remain," she added.
How did tortoises colonise Fernandina, and what is their evolutionary relationship to the other giant Galápagos tortoises?” »
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