They found in the Galapagos Islands a giant tortoise that would have disappeared for a century

A copy of one of the species of giant tortoises endemic to the Ecuadorian Archipelago of Galapagos, considered extinct 100 years ago, was found during an expedition on Fernandina Island.

"WORLD NEWS | On Fernandina Island – # Galapagos, expedition led by @parquegalapagos and @SaveGalapagos, located a specimen (adult female) of the species of tortoise Chelonoidis Phantasticus, which would have disappeared for more than 100 years, "he said. The Minister of the Environment, Marcelo Mata, via his Twitter account.

Mata did not give more details about the discovery of the turtle in charge of staff of the Galapagos National Park (PNG) and the American NGO Galapagos Conservancy, which supports the preservation of these islands in the Ecuadorian Pacific.

According to Galápagos Conservancy, the only known specimen of Chelonoidis Phantasticus, also called "Northern Island Turtle", was seen during the California Academy of Sciences expedition in April 1906.

The giant tortoises they arrived three or four million years ago in the volcanic region of Galapagos. It is thought that marine currents dispersed their specimens along the islands, and so it is that 15 different species were created, each adapted to its territory. The archipelago served English naturalist Charles Darwin to develop the theory on the evolution of the species.

Of these 15 turtle species, two are officially extinct, Chelonoidis spp (Santa Fe Island) and Abigdoni (Pinta).

In 2015, Ecuador announced the discovery of a new species of turtle in the archipelago, known for its unique flora and fauna in the world. The variety was called Chelonoidis donfaustoi, in the honor of Fausto Llerena, who attended the "Solitario George", the last of the Chelonoidis abigdoni.

George died of old age in 2012 after refusing to mate females belonging to a related subspecies in captivity.