Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island Tortoises, died on Sunday. He left no survivors that are known.
His death marks the extinction of Chelonidis nigra abingdoni.
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The last known member of the subspecies Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni), affectionately named Lonesome George, passed away on Sunday at about 100 years old (no one knew his exact age). He had been the last of his kind in the Galapagos Islands for the past 40 years, earning his…
Eleven species of giant tortoise are found throughout the Galapagos Islands.
The (Lonesome George) Pinta tortoise is one of the smaller species.
Image: BBC News.
Do you remember "Lonesome George"; the male giant Galapagos tortoise from the island of Pinta? Well, it appears that he is not so…
I'm sure you already know the story of Lonesome George:
And now, you can see "him" (as it were) at the American Museum of Natural History. From a press release:
Lonesome George Will Be on View at American Museum of Natural History
Museum will Oversee Preservation and Taxidermy of Famous Tortoise…
I'm not sure if it is really called "embalmed" when done to a tortoise, but it is the same idea. Lonesome George was a Galapagos Tortoise, Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, who was known for some time a the last living individual of his subspecies. He lived on Pinta Island in the Galapagos. He died…
Well this sucks.
Bye, George. :(
A lot of people on the news sites are asking "Why not clone him from his DNA?" I'm sure it's just a tad bit more complicated than that, though it is an interesting question, if they can save his DNA for producing other Pinta Island tortoises later.