Posts tagged tortoise
Lonesome George, dead at 100.
The Pinta Island subspecies of the Galapagos Tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni) is now believed to be extinct.
Lonesome George lived in a large corral on the main island of Galapagos, with several females of the Espanola subspecies. George was much fonder of his fronds and sunshine than the females, though, and despite their genetic similarity (meaning that the eggs would likely be fertile), he did not mate with them.
The tortoise subspecies of the islands were second only to the finch adaptations in inspiring Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
I thought I posted about Lonesome George on Darwin Day, but alas, it appears I did not. I have a few posts on tortoises, including a photo of Harriet, a notable Galapagos tortoise who died in 2006, at age 176, but no George.
As Lonesome George was considered a fairly young adult, in terms of tortoise years, his death was unexpected, and the cause is unknown. A necropsy will take place to determine the cause, and his body will be preserved and kept at the Galapagos National Park visitor center.
And to you!
fun fact: One of the tortoises that Darwin collected on his voyages lived to be 176 years old. She died just a few years ago, in 2006. Her name was Harriet.
Skeletons of 1. tortoise, 2. bird, 3. fish, 4. frog, 5. boa-constrictor, and 6. chameleon
Zoological Science or Nature in Living Forms. A. M. Redfield, 1858.
Giant Tortoise
“I say, gents! This mammoth chelonian seems rather titillated by my pipe!”*
Popular Official Guide to the New York Zoological Park. William T. Hornaday, 1915.
*The book notes that the tortoise is “inspecting the pipe of a zookeeper giving an instructional prior to feeding time”
European Tortoise Retreating into Shell Despite what your childhood cartoons told you, turtles and tortoises can’t actually “take off” their shells…the shells are an integral part of their body and grow with the reptile, unlike, say, hermit crabs. There’s no skin underneath the shell, since the shell IS the outermost layer. Long story short, don’t try to literally take a tortoise out of its shell; you’ll kill it, and that’s not cool. The Principal Forms of the Skeleton and of the Teeth. Dr. Richard Owen, 1854.
Chelys fimbriata (now Chelus fimbriatus), Mata Mata. 1912 illustration.
The excessive turtle-y posts are because of Dutton. I got caught up reading about Mata Mata last night for almost an hour.
Haeckel’s Chelonia plate.
Top to bottom:
1. Hawksbill Turtle
2. Leatherback Turtle
3. Mata Mata
4. Argentine Snake-necked Turtle
5. Galapagos Tortoise
6. Geometric Tortoise
7. Common Snapping Turtle
Kunstformen der Natur. Ernst Haeckel, 1904.
Top to bottom: Matamata, Hawksbill Sea Turtle, Leatherback Turtle
Illustration ca. 1890.
A blog for all biological and medical ephemera, from the age of Abraham through the era of medical quackery and cure-all nostrums. Featuring illustrations, history, and totally useless trivia from the diverse realms of nature and medicine.
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