New tortoise species rediscovered in Galapagos Islands

(ORDO NEWS) — The Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador confirmed on March 11 the discovery of a new species of tortoise in the Galapagos Islands. This is reported by the news agency Prensa Latina.

Turtles of the species Chelonoidis chathamensis were previously known, but were considered extinct. In the 21st century, they were mistakenly considered to be a different species, but genetic analysis confirmed that the rediscovered species does not belong to a completely new line, but to an old one that was considered extinct since the beginning of the 20th century.

A team of scientists is currently working to reconstruct the DNA structure from the samples collected in 1906 in order to match the genetic maps and find out how the species are related.

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