Galápagos tortoise found alive is from species thought extinct

Galápagos tortoise found alive is from species thought extinct

Genetic tests have confirmed that a giant tortoise found on the Galápagos Islands is from a species which scientists thought had died out more than a century ago.

The single female was discovered during a 2019 expedition to Fernandina Island.

To prove the link, scientists took samples from the female to compare to the remains of a male from the species Chelonoidis phantasticus.

The last previous sighting of the species had been in 1906.