Relative of extinct tortoise located in Galapagos

QUITO: A scientific expedition to the Galapagos Islands has discovered a tortoise with a “strong” genetic link to a presumed-extinct subspecies made famous by the popular Lonesome George, national park officials said Friday.

George, the last known member of the Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii Pinta tortoise species, died in 2012 in captivity aged over 100 after refusing to provide any offspring.

The Galapagos National Parks (PNG) said the expedition had discovered a young, female specimen deemed “a high-importance find because it has a strong genetic component of the species ´Chelonoidis abingdonii.´” She “could be a direct descendant of a pure individual, which could still be alive somewhere,” the park said.