Santiago Island giant tortoise
Temporal range: Miocene - Recent[1][2]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[4]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Chelonoidis
Species:
C. niger
Subspecies:
C. n. darwini
Trinomial name
Chelonoidis niger darwini
Synonyms[6]
  • 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[3] 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.[7] There are approximately 1,165 individuals in the wild, with an increasing population.[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. n. darwini are forest and shrubland.[3]

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.[3]

Etymology

The specific name, darwini, is in honor of English naturalist Charles Darwin.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Fossilworks: Periplaneta".
  2. ↑ "Fossilworks: Chelonoidis".
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Cayot, L.J.; Gibbs, J.P.; Tapia, W.; Caccone, A. (2016). "Chelonoidis darwini". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T9020A82689845. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T9020A82689845.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  5. ↑ Van Denburgh, John (1907). "Preliminary descriptions of four new races of gigantic land tortoises from the Galapagos Islands". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. Fourth Series. 1: 1–6. (Testudo darwini, new species).
  6. 1 2 Species Chelonoidis darwini at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  7. ↑ Cayot LJ (1994). "Conservation biology of Galápagos reptiles: twenty-five years of successful research and management". pp. 297–305. In: Murphy JB, Adler K, Collins JT (editors). Captive Management and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles. Ithaca, New York: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Contributions to Herpetology. Vol. 11. ISBN 0-916984-33-8.
  • Van Denburgh J (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, Fourth Series 1: 1–6. (Testudo darwini, new subspecies). (Full text).


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