Image: Eric Gauthier
The death of Galápagos tortoise Lonesome George this summer was thought
to mark the extinction of a subspecies, but a new study hints that the
reptile may not have been the last of his kind after all.
Researchers from Yale University recently trekked to the northern tip
of Isabella Island, the largest of the Galápagos, and collected DNA from
more than 1,600 giant tortoises. The genetic samples showed that 17 of these tortoises were hybrids that had a parent like Lonesome George from the subspecies Chelonoidis abingdoni. What's more, five of those hybrids were juveniles, suggesting purebred C. abingdoni tortoises may still be roaming a remote part of the island.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C11%5C18%5Cstory_18-11-2012_pg9_5
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