The Santiago Island giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger darwini)'', also known commonly as the Santiago giant tortoise and the James Island tortoise, is a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

Galápagos tortoise The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a species of very large tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). It comprises 15 subspecies (13 ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Testudinidae. The subspecies is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

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 Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

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.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. . There are approximately 1,165 individuals in the wild, with an increasing population.

Habitat

The preferred natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s of ''C. n. darwini'' are

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

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 Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''darwini'', is in honor of English naturalist

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

. www.reptile-database.org.

References

External links

* 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
. Chelonoidis Subspecies Taxa named by John Van Denburgh Endemic reptiles of the Galápagos Islands Reptiles described in 1907 {{turtle-stub