
Illustrated News
A living member of species of tortoise not seen in
December 20, 2019
Summary
A living member of species of tortoise not seen in more than 110 years and feared to be extinct has been found in a remote part of the Galápagos island of Fernandina.
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An adult female Chelonoidis phantasticus, also known as the Fernandina giant tortoise, was spotted by a joint expedition of the Galápagos National Park and the US-based Galapagos Conservancy.
The only other living member of the species was found in 1906. Since then, expeditions have encountered tortoise faeces and bite marks on cacti, and there was a possible unconfirmed sighting in 2009. This discovery was the first confirmed sighting and together with the possibility of finding more members of the species has raised the possibility of breeding.
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/21/giant-tortoise-believed-extinct-for-100-years-found-in-galapagos](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/21/giant-tortoise-believed-extinct-for-100-years-found-in-galapagos)