Description of a New Galapagos Giant Tortoise Species (Chelonoidis; Testudines: Testudinidae) from Cerro Fatal on Santa Cruz Island.
The taxonomy of giant Galapagos tortoises (Chelonoidis spp.) is currently based primarily on morphological characters and island of origin. Over the last decade, compelling genetic evidence has accumulated for multiple independent evolutionary lineages, spurring the need for taxonomic revision. On the island of Santa Cruz there is currently a single named species, C. porteri. Recent genetic and morphological studies have shown that, within this taxon, there are two evolutionarily and spatially distinct lineages on the western and eastern sectors of the island, known as the Reserva and Cerro Fatal populations, respectively. Analyses of DNA from natural populations and museum specimens, including the type specimen for C. porteri, confirm the genetic distinctiveness of these two lineages and support elevation of the Cerro Fatal tortoises to the rank of species. In this paper, we identify DNA characters that define this new species, and infer evolutionary relationships relative to other species of Galapagos tortoises.
Department of Biology, University of Crete, Vassilika Vouton, Gr-71300, Heraklion, Greece; Natural History Museum of Crete, University of Crete, Knossos Av., GR-71409, Heraklion, Greece.
Nikos
N
Poulakakis
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 21 Sachem St. New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, United States of America; Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced, 5200 N Lake Rd, Merced, California, 95343, United States of America.
Danielle L
DL
Edwards
Department of Biology, University of South Alabama, LSCB 123, 5871 USA Dr. N, Mobile, Alabama, 36688, United States of America.
Ylenia
Y
Chiari
Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, 38677, United States of America.
Ryan C
RC
Garrick
Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada.
Michael A
MA
Russello
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 21 Sachem St. New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, United States of America.
Edgar
E
Benavides
Division of Vertebrate Zoology, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, 170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, United States of America.
Gregory J
GJ
Watkins-Colwell
Department of Biology, University of South Alabama, LSCB 123, 5871 USA Dr. N, Mobile, Alabama, 36688, United States of America.
Scott
S
Glaberman
Department of Applied Research, Galapagos National Park Service, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, Ecuador; Galapagos Conservancy, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, United States of America.
Washington
W
Tapia
College of Environmental Science & Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, New York, 13210, United States of America.
James P
JP
Gibbs
Galapagos Conservancy, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, United States of America.
Linda J
LJ
Cayot
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 21 Sachem St. New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, United States of America.
Adalgisa
A
Caccone
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D005828:Genetics, Population; D062312:Islands; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D014426:Turtles / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial