''Chelonoidis niger vicina'', commonly known as the Cerro Azul giant tortoise, Iguana Cove tortoise or the Isabela Island giant tortoise, is a subspecies of

Galápagos tortoise The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a species of very large tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). It comprises 15 subspecies (13 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to Isabela Island in the Galápagos.

Population history

This population was depleted by seamen in the last 200 years and by extensive slaughter in the late 1950s and 1960s by employees of cattle companies based at Iguana Cove. Their population is thought to overlap with '' Chelonoidis niger guentheri''. Chelonoidis_vicina_04

Description

It has a thick, heavy shell intermediate between saddle-backed and domed, and not appreciably narrowed anteriorly. Males are larger and more saddle-backed; females are more domed. Until eradication programs, virtually all nests and hatchlings were destroyed by

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus ''Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relativ ...

s, and

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

s.MacFarland 1974a. ''The galapagos giant tortoises (Geochelone elephantopus). I. Status of the surviving populations''.
Biological Conservation. 6(2):118–133

References

* Günther, 1875 : ''Descriptions of the living and extinct races of gigantic land–tortoises. Parts I and II. Introduction, and the tortoises of the Galapagos Islands.'' Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, , . Chelonoidis Species Taxa named by Albert Günther Endemic reptiles of the Galápagos Islands Reptiles described in 1875 {{turtle-stub