Santa Cruz Island
Galápagos’ giant tortoises represent for us Ecuadorians an inimitable symbol of our country. These magnificent reptiles are so famous, that they are the namesake to probably the most important place in our country, the Galápagos Islands.
The giant tortoises constitute real vestiges from the past. These gigantic reptiles were roaming freely in many regions around the world for the last thirty million years. Little by little since the prehistoric times, their populations all over around the world have been drastically reduced almost to the edge of extinction. There are only two remaining isolated archipelagos in the world where we can still be amazed with their presence. The Galápagos Islands is probably the more famous of the two. The other archipelago is the Seychelles islands located close to Madagascar, Africa. There are similarities and differences among these two remaining populations. Both species of giant tortoises share the same genus, Geochelone that literally means “land turtles”. The advantage of the Galápagos giant tortoises is that they represent a great example of adaptive radiation through evolution. Nowhere on the planet could be found the remarkable variety of shell shapes, except on the Galápagos. The Seychelles have only one species in the entire archipelago, while within the Galápagos there are eleven living subspecies. Some subspecies are enormous and have a dome-like shaped carapace, while others are smaller, with the anterior edge of the carapace arching upward. The later type is called saddlebacks tortoises due their peculiar shape amongst all known tortoises anywhere in the world. The Galápagos giant tortoises are without any doubt the most representative and emblematic animal species of Ecuador.
Galápagos’ giant tortoises represent for us Ecuadorians an inimitable symbol of our country. These magnificent reptiles are so famous, that they are the namesake to probably the most important place in our country, the Galápagos Islands.
The giant tortoises constitute real vestiges from the past. These gigantic reptiles were roaming freely in many regions around the world for the last thirty million years. Little by little since the prehistoric times, their populations all over around the world have been drastically reduced almost to the edge of extinction. There are only two remaining isolated archipelagos in the world where we can still be amazed with their presence. The Galápagos Islands is probably the more famous of the two. The other archipelago is the Seychelles islands located close to Madagascar, Africa. There are similarities and differences among these two remaining populations. Both species of giant tortoises share the same genus, Geochelone that literally means “land turtles”. The advantage of the Galápagos giant tortoises is that they represent a great example of adaptive radiation through evolution. Nowhere on the planet could be found the remarkable variety of shell shapes, except on the Galápagos. The Seychelles have only one species in the entire archipelago, while within the Galápagos there are eleven living subspecies. Some subspecies are enormous and have a dome-like shaped carapace, while others are smaller, with the anterior edge of the carapace arching upward. The later type is called saddlebacks tortoises due their peculiar shape amongst all known tortoises anywhere in the world. The Galápagos giant tortoises are without any doubt the most representative and emblematic animal species of Ecuador.
