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Santiago Island giant tortoise facts for kids

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Santiago Island giant tortoise
Temporal range: Miocene - Recent
Darwini.jpg
Conservation status
CITES Appendix I (CITES)
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Chelonoidis
Species:
Subspecies:
C. n. darwini
Trinomial name
Chelonoidis niger darwini
(Van Denburgh, 1907)
Synonyms
  • Testudo darwini
    Van Denburgh, 1907
  • Testudo elephantopus darwini
    — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955
  • Geochelone elephantopus darwini
    — Pritchard, 1967
  • Geochelone nigra darwini
    — Iverson, 1992
  • Chelonoidis nigra darwini
    — David, 1994
  • Geochelone darwini
    — Cisneros-Heredia, 2006
  • Chelonoidis darwini
    — Rhodin et al., 2010

The Santiago Island giant tortoise (Chelonoidis niger darwini), also known commonly as the Santiago giant tortoise and the James Island tortoise, is a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The subspecies is endemic to Santiago Island (also known as James Island and San Salvador) in the Galápagos.

Population history

Large numbers of C. n. darwini were removed from Santiago Island in the early 19th century by whaling vessels, and introduced goats reduced the coastal lowlands to deserts, restricting the remaining tortoises to the interior. The sex ratio is strongly imbalanced in favour of the males, and most nests and young are destroyed by feral pigs. Some nests are now protected by lava corrals, and since 1970, eggs have been transported to the Charles Darwin Research Station for hatching and rearing. Release programs and measures for nest protection from feral pigs have been successful. There are approximately 1,165 individuals in the wild, with an increasing population.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. n. darwini are forest and shrubland.

Description

The gray to black carapace of C. n. darwini is intermediate in shape between the saddle-backed subspecies and the domed subspecies of Galápagos tortoises. It has only a shallow cervical indentation. The anterior carapacial rim is not appreciably upturned, and the posterior marginals are flared, slightly upturned, and slightly serrated.

Diet

C. n. darwini grazes on low-growing vegetation.

Etymology

The specific name, darwini, is in honor of English naturalist Charles Darwin.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Tortuga gigante de Santiago para niños

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