Scientists Report New Tortoise Species on Galapagos Islands
2022-03-18
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1Scientists have discovered that a giant tortoise on one of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands is really a new species that had been misidentified earlier.
2Ecuador's Galapagos National Park announced the findings from a recent study.
3Researchers from Newcastle University in England, Yale University in the United States, and the Galapagos Conservancy, an American non-profit group, carried out the study.
4The researchers said the giant tortoises living on San Cristóbal Island had been identified with the scientific name of Chelonoidis chathamensis.
5But the researchers now recognize them as genetically different species, the park said in a statement.
6"The scientists concluded that nearly 8,000 tortoises which exist today on San Cristobal are not Chelonoidis chathamensis," park officials said.
7They added that the tortoises appear to be a completely new lineage that has yet to be described.
8Researchers made the discovery through a genetic comparison of the animals with a sample from the already described species.
9The lineage once thought to belong to the San Cristóbal tortoises may belong to a species that disappeared from the island.
10It may have lived at the same time as the surviving lineage, the statement said.
11"The team of investigators is recovering more DNA from the species thought to be extinct to clarify the state of the tortoises," the statement said.
12It is not clear how the two species - the one that is still on the island and the one that disappeared forever-are related.
13The researchers' statement said the name should be given to the extinct species and a new name should be given to the living tortoises.
14Genetic studies of surviving Galapagos tortoises began in 1995.
15Four years later, scientists began studying samples from extinct species of the animals.
16The researchers said at least 14 species from the islands have been described by science.
17The study appeared in the publication Heredity last month.
18The researchers said understanding the history of the giant tortoises on San Cristóbal Island could increase knowledge of how the animals developed across the Galapagos.
19The animal life of the Galapagos Islands is famous for influencing scientist Charles Darwin's development of the theory of evolution.
20That is the idea that species change over large amounts of time.
21Scientists have studied the unusual species of animals on the islands which are an internationally recognized protected area.
22I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1Scientists have discovered that a giant tortoise on one of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands is really a new species that had been misidentified earlier. 2Ecuador's Galapagos National Park announced the findings from a recent study. Researchers from Newcastle University in England, Yale University in the United States, and the Galapagos Conservancy, an American non-profit group, carried out the study. 3The researchers said the giant tortoises living on San Cristóbal Island had been identified with the scientific name of Chelonoidis chathamensis. But the researchers now recognize them as genetically different species, the park said in a statement. 4"The scientists concluded that nearly 8,000 tortoises which exist today on San Cristobal are not Chelonoidis chathamensis," park officials said. They added that the tortoises appear to be a completely new lineage that has yet to be described. 5Researchers made the discovery through a genetic comparison of the animals with a sample from the already described species. 6The lineage once thought to belong to the San Cristóbal tortoises may belong to a species that disappeared from the island. It may have lived at the same time as the surviving lineage, the statement said. 7"The team of investigators is recovering more DNA from the species thought to be extinct to clarify the state of the tortoises," the statement said. 8It is not clear how the two species - the one that is still on the island and the one that disappeared forever-are related. 9The researchers' statement said the name should be given to the extinct species and a new name should be given to the living tortoises. 10Genetic studies of surviving Galapagos tortoises began in 1995. Four years later, scientists began studying samples from extinct species of the animals. The researchers said at least 14 species from the islands have been described by science. 11The study appeared in the publication Heredity last month. 12The researchers said understanding the history of the giant tortoises on San Cristóbal Island could increase knowledge of how the animals developed across the Galapagos. 13The animal life of the Galapagos Islands is famous for influencing scientist Charles Darwin's development of the theory of evolution. That is the idea that species change over large amounts of time. Scientists have studied the unusual species of animals on the islands which are an internationally recognized protected area. 14I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 15Alexandra Valencia and Julia Symmes Cobb reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. 16____________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18species -n.(biology) a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants; a group of related animals or plants that is smaller than a genus 19lineage -n. the line of ancestors of a living thing 20clarify - v. to make (something) easier to understand 21sample -n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from; an example of something 22We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.