Pinzón Island giant tortoise

Pinzón Island giant tortoise
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Chelonoidis
Species:	C. duncanensis
Binomial name
	Chelonoidis duncanensis; (Garman, 1966)[2]
Synonyms
	Testudo duncanensis Garman, 1917; Geochelone nigra duncanensis Garman in Pritchard, 1996;

Chelonoidis duncanensis, commonly known as the Pinzón Island giant tortoise, is a species of Galápagos tortoise endemic to Pinzón Island in the Galápagos.[1]

Population history

Although relatively undisturbed by whalers, fairly large numbers of tortoises were removed by expeditions in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th. After the introduction of black rats (Rattus rattus) and brown rats (Rattus norvegicus)[3] some time before 1900, no natural breeding succeeded. Since 1965, eggs have been transported to the Charles Darwin Research Station for hatching and rearing. Over 75% of those released between 1970 and 1990 survived.[4] There are currently around &&&&&&&+532 known individuals, which live in the southwestern side of Pinzón Island.

Description

This saddle-backed species is one of the smallest of the Galápagos tortoises. Its brownish-gray, oblong carapace has only a very shallow cervical indentation, the anterior marginals little to much upturned, and the slightly serrated posterior marginals flared and upturned. The carapace is usually compressed or narrowed anteriorly.

References

Cayot, L.J.; Gibbs, J.P.; Tapia, W.; Caccone, A. (2017). "Chelonoidis duncanensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T9021A3149054. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
Garman 1917. The Galapagos tortoises. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College., vol. XXX, no. 4
Rat eradication program begins in Galapagos Islands. Scientific American. (Accessed 2012-01-14.)
Cayot 1994. Conservation biology of Galápagos reptiles: twenty-five years of successful research and management. In: J. B. Murphy, K. Adler, and J. T. Collins (eds.). Captive Management and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles, pp. 297–305. Ithaca, New York: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Contributions to Herpetology. vol. 11. ISBN 0-916984-33-8.

Pritchard, 1996 : The Galápagos Tortoises: Nomenclatural and Survival Status. Chelonian Research Monographs, No. 1, p. 50.

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[IUCN-1] Cayot, L.J.; Gibbs, J.P.; Tapia, W.; Caccone, A. (2017). "Chelonoidis duncanensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T9021A3149054. Retrieved 14 February 2020.

[2] Garman 1917. The Galapagos tortoises. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College., vol. XXX, no. 4

[rats-3] Rat eradication program begins in Galapagos Islands. Scientific American. (Accessed 2012-01-14.)

[Cayot_1994-4] Cayot 1994. Conservation biology of Galápagos reptiles: twenty-five years of successful research and management. In: J. B. Murphy, K. Adler, and J. T. Collins (eds.). Captive Management and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles, pp. 297–305. Ithaca, New York: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Contributions to Herpetology. vol. 11. ISBN 0-916984-33-8.