The Hood Island giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger hoodensis'')
is a
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
of
Galápagos tortoise
The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a very large species of tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). The species comprises 15 subsp ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
to
Española Island
Española or Espanola Island () is the most southerly of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, about a 10 to 12-hour trip by boat from Santa Cruz.
Names
''Española'', Spanish for "Little Spain", is named for Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea ...
in the
Galápagos.
Population history
This population was very heavily exploited by whalers in the 19th century and collapsed around 1850. 13 adults were found in the early 1970s and held at the
Charles Darwin Research Station
Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) (, ''ECCD'') is a biological research station in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador. The station is operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation which was founded in 1959 under the auspices o ...
as a breeding colony. The two males and 11 females were initially brought to the Darwin Station. Fortuitously, a third male (
Diego
Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''.
The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below.
...
) was discovered at the
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, United States, located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its ...
and joined the others in a captive breeding program. Mating had not occurred naturally for some time, because the individuals were so scattered that they did not meet. Following the successful captive breeding program, large numbers have been released back into the wild and are now breeding on their own with the population reaching over 2,300 individuals as of August, 2020.
Description
It is one of the smallest subspecies of
Galápagos tortoise
The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a very large species of tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). The species comprises 15 subsp ...
. Its black, saddle-backed carapace has a deep cervical indentation, the anterior rim only weakly upturned, and posterior marginals downturned and slightly serrated. It is narrow anteriorly and wider posteriorly.
Etymology
Its subspecies name, composed of hood and the Latin suffix -ensis: "who lives in", was given in reference to the place of its discovery,
Española Island
Española or Espanola Island () is the most southerly of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, about a 10 to 12-hour trip by boat from Santa Cruz.
Names
''Española'', Spanish for "Little Spain", is named for Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea ...
, which is also called Hood Island.
See also
*
Diego (tortoise)
Diego is a Hood Island giant tortoise. Thought to have been hatched on Española Island, Galápagos Islands, Galápagos, he was captured as a young adult and shipped to the United States where he was exhibited at zoos. By the late 1940s, he wa ...
References
* Van Denburgh, 1907 : ''Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences to the Galapagos Islands, 1905–1906. I. Preliminary descriptions of four new races of gigantic land tortoises from the Galapagos Islands.'' Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, ser. 4, ,
texte intégral.
Chelonoidis
Subspecies
Taxa named by John Van Denburgh
Endemic reptiles of the Galápagos Islands
Reptiles described in 1907
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