Galapagos Species Database

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Geochelone becki (Rothschild, 1901), Testudo becki Rothschild, 1901, Chelonoidis nigra becki (Rothschild, 1901), Geochelone elephantopus becki Pritchard, 1967, Chelonoides becki Bour, 1980, Geochelone becki Fritts, 1983; Type specimen: Tring Museum, England. Le et al. (2006) demonstrate that the genus Geochelone is polyphyletic and that the Galapagos Giant Tortoises are better treated as the monophyletic genus Chelonoidis. According to Márquez et al. (2004) and Poulakakis et al. (2008) the Geochelone taxa (= Chelonoidis) from Galapagos are genetically distinct and therefore treated as species and not as subspecies of Geochelone (= Chelonoidis) nigra.

Origin: Endemic

Distribution: Restricted to Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island.

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• Fritts, T.H. (2001) A brief review of the taxonomic history of Galapagos Tortoise relevant to consideration of the most appropiate generic and specifc name for Giant Tortoises in Galapagos. U.S. Geological survey Report, 7 pp.
• Heller, E. (1903) Reptiles. In Papers from the Hopkins Stanford Galapagos Expedition 1898-1899. Proceedings of the Washington Academy Sciences 5: 39-98.
• IUCN (2010) IUCN Red list of threatened species. Version 2010.1. www.iucnredlist.org
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• Jiménez-Uzcátegui, G. Milstead, B., Márquez, C., Zabala, J., Buitrón, P., Llerena, A., et al. (2007) Galapagos vertebrates: endangered status and conservation actions. Galapagos Report 2006–2007. Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, p. 104–110.
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• Russello M.A. Poulakakis, N., Gibbs, J.P., Tapia, W., Benavides, E., Powell, J.R. & Caccone, A. (2010) DNA from the Past Informs Ex Situ Conservation for the Future: An ‘Extinct’’ Species of Galápagos Tortoise Identified in Captivity. PLoS ONE 5(1): e8683. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008683
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