How old do Galapagos tortoises get?
Aldabra giant tortoise
Large tortoises are among the longest-lived animals. Some individual Aldabra giant tortoises are thought to be over 200 years of age, but this is difficult to verify because they tend to outlive their human observers. Adwaita was reputedly one of four brought by British seamen from the Seychelles Islands as gifts to Robert Clive of the British East India Company in the 18th century, and came to Calcutta Zoo in 1875. At his death in March 2006 at the Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) Zoo in India, Adwaita is reputed to have reached the longest ever measured lifespan of 255 years (birth year 1750). Today, Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise ("A. g. hololissa"), is thought to be the oldest living giant tortoise at the age of years and Esmeralda is second at the age of years, since the death of Harriet at 176, a Galapagos giant tortoise. Esmeralda is an Aldabra giant tortoise.
Granny (orca)
Now that orca studies have been conducted for several decades, the exact age of many younger whales is known. The age of older orcas, such as Granny, is estimated by their offspring; they give birth around age 15, and stop having offspring around 40; by adding the generations together, ages can be estimated. Granny was photographed in 1971 with a male orca, J1 Ruffles, who was believed at the time to be her son. Ruffles was estimated as at least 20 years old, and as scientists believed him to be Granny's last offspring, her own age was estimated at about 60. It was later discovered that Ruffles was not Granny's son, but her age estimate was never changed. Granny's age was originally estimated with a margin of error of 12 years, but was the subject of an academic dispute in 2016 due to her original age being based on evidence now known to be incorrect, as well as a large disparity between the life expectancy of orcas with estimated ages and orcas with known ages. Analysis of fatty acids from a recent biopsy of Granny indicated that Granny may have only been 65–80 years of age.
Red-footed tortoise
All turtles and tortoises start as eggs. Red-footed tortoise eggs are roughly spherical and average around and weigh with two to seven eggs in a clutch, although the same females may lay multiple clutches near each other. The incubation period is 105–202 days, with 150 being typical.
Aldabra giant tortoise
The carapace is a brown or tan color with a high, domed shape. It has stocky, heavily scaled legs to support its heavy body. The neck of the Aldabra giant tortoise is very long, even for its great size, which helps the animal to exploit tree branches up to a meter from the ground as a food source. Similar in size to the famous Galápagos giant tortoise, its carapace averages in length with an average weight of . Females are generally smaller than males, with average specimens measuring in length and weighing . Medium-sized specimens in captivity were reported as in body mass. Another study found body masses of up to most commonplace.
Yellow-footed tortoise
With an average length of 40 cm (15.75 in) and the largest known specimen at 94 cm (37 in), this is the sixth-largest tortoise species on Earth, after the Galapagos tortoise, the Aldabra tortoise, the African spurred tortoise ("Geochelone sulcata", typical size 76 cm (30 in)), the leopard tortoise ("Stigmochelys pardalis"), and the Asian forest tortoise ("Manouria emys emys", typical size 60 cm (23.6 in)).
Pinta Island tortoise
On 24 June 2012, at 8:00 am local time, Director of the Galápagos National Park Edwin Naula announced that Lonesome George had been found dead by his caretaker of 40 years, Fausto Llerena. Naula suspects that the cause of death was heart failure consistent with the end of the natural life of a tortoise.
Timothy (tortoise)
Timothy (c. 1844 – 3 April 2004) was a Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise who was thought to be approximately 160 years old at the time of her death. This made her the UK's oldest known resident. In spite of her name, Timothy was female; it was not properly known how to sex tortoises in the 19th century. Timothy was named after a tortoise owned by Gilbert White.
Alcedo Volcano
The volcano has the largest number of wild tortoises of any of the volcanoes in the Galapagos, though their genetic diversity is amongst the lowest of any of the breeds in the archipelago. The habitat of the tortoises was threatened when feral goats crossed from southern Isabela Island in the 1970s and then reproduced rapidly.
Tortoise
Most species of tortoises lay small clutch sizes, seldom exceeding 20 eggs, and many species have clutch sizes of only 1–2 eggs. Incubation is characteristically long in most species, the average incubation period are between 100 and 160 days. Egg-laying typically occurs at night, after which the mother tortoise covers her clutch with sand, soil, and organic material. The eggs are left unattended, and depending on the species, take from 60 to 120 days to incubate. The size of the egg depends on the size of the mother and can be estimated by examining the width of the cloacal opening between the carapace and plastron. The plastron of a female tortoise often has a noticeable V-shaped notch below the tail which facilitates passing the eggs. Upon completion of the incubation period, a fully formed hatchling uses an egg tooth to break out of its shell. It digs to the surface of the nest and begins a life of survival on its own. They are hatched with an embryonic egg sac which serves as a source of nutrition for the first three to seven days until they have the strength and mobility to find food. Juvenile tortoises often require a different balance of nutrients than adults, so may eat foods which a more mature tortoise would not. For example, the young of a strictly herbivorous species commonly will consume worms or insect larvae for additional protein.
Galápagos tortoise
An estimated 200,000 animals were taken before the 20th century. The relatively immobile and defenceless tortoises were collected and stored live on board ships, where they could survive for at least a year without food or water (some anecdotal reports suggest individuals surviving two years), providing valuable fresh meat, while their diluted urine and the water stored in their neck bags could be used as drinking water. The 17th-century British pirate, explorer, and naturalist William Dampier wrote, "They are so extraordinarily large and fat, and so sweet, that no pullet eats more pleasantly," while Captain James Colnett of the British Navy wrote of "the land tortoise which in whatever way it was dressed, was considered by all of us as the most delicious food we had ever tasted." US Navy captain David Porter declared, "after once tasting the Galapagos tortoises, every other animal food fell off greatly in our estimation ... The meat of this animal is the easiest of digestion, and a quantity of it, exceeding that of any other food, can be eaten without experiencing the slightest of inconvenience." Darwin was less enthusiastic about the meat, writing "the breast-plate roasted (as the Gauchos do "carne con cuero"), with the flesh on it, is very good; and the young tortoises make excellent soup; but otherwise the meat to my taste is indifferent."
Tortoise
The carapace is fused to both the vertebrae and ribcage, and tortoises are unique among vertebrates in that the pectoral and pelvic girdles are inside the ribcage rather than outside. Tortoises can vary in dimension from a few centimeters to two meters. They are usually diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive animals. Tortoises are the longest living land animal in the world, although the longest living species of tortoise is a matter of debate. Galápagos tortoises are noted to live over 150 years, but an Aldabra giant tortoise named Adwaita may have been the longest living at an estimated 255 years. In general, most tortoise species can live 80–150 years.
Galápagos tortoise
At the end of the 19th century, Georg Baur and Walter Rothschild recognised five more populations of Galápagos tortoise. In 1905–06, an expedition by the California Academy of Sciences, with Joseph R. Slevin in charge of reptiles, collected specimens which were studied by Academy herpetologist John Van Denburgh. He identified four additional populations, and proposed the existence of 15 species. Van Denburgh's list still guides the taxonomy of the Galápagos tortoise, though now 10 populations are thought to have existed.
Galápagos fur seal
Galápagos fur seals are the smallest of otariids. They have a grayish brown fur coat. The adult males of the species average in length and in mass. The females average in length and in mass.
They spend more time out of the water than almost any other seal. On average, 70% of their time is spent on land. Most seal species spend 50% of their time on land and 50% in the water.
Galapagos hawk
The Galapagos hawk is similar in size to the red tailed hawk ("Buteo jamaicensis") and the Swainson's hawk ("Buteo swainsoni") of North America, but the size is variable across the islands as is recorded for many animals native to the Galapagos. They appear to be somewhat more heavily built than those well known mainland species, and going on average weights, this species is the second heaviest "Buteo" in the Americas, behind only the ferruginous hawk. The Galapagos hawk can range from in length from beak to tail with a wingspan of . The smallest hawk sizes recorded are on Marchena Island, where males average and females average . Intermediate in size are the hawks of Santiago Island, on which males weigh an average of while females average . Largest known are the hawks on Española Island, which are amongst the largest "Buteo" known anywhere, with males averaging and females averaging . The adult hawk has various colouring within the species. The adult Galapagos hawk is generally a sooty brownish black colour; the crown being slightly blacker than the back. Its feathers of the mantle are partially edged with paler brown, grey, or buff, with their white bases showing to some extent. Their tail coverts are also barred with white.The tail itself is silvery grey above, with about ten narrow black bars; below it is quite pale. The wing feathers are paler on inner webs, barred with white.
Desert tortoise
The annual death rate of adults is typically a few percent, but is much higher for young desert tortoises. Only 2–5% of hatchlings are estimated to reach maturity. Estimates of survival from hatching to 1 year of age for Mojave Desert tortoises range from 47 to 51%. Survival of Mojave Desert tortoises from 1 to 4 years of age is 71–89%.
Galápagos tortoise
The species "C. nigra" became extinct by human exploitation in the 19th century. Another species, "C. abingdonii", became extinct on 24 June 2012 with the death in captivity of the last remaining specimen, a male named Lonesome George, the world's "rarest living creature". All the other surviving species are listed by the IUCN as at least "Vulnerable" in conservation status, if not worse.
Essex (whaleship)
To restock their food supplies for the long journey, "Essex" sailed for Charles Island (later renamed Floreana Island) in the Galápagos Islands. The crew needed to fix a serious leak and initially anchored off Hood Island (now known as Española Island) on October 8, 1820. During a week at anchor, they captured 300 Galápagos giant tortoises to supplement the ship's food stores. Then they sailed for Charles Island, where on October 22 they took another 60 tortoises. The tortoises weighed from each. The sailors captured them alive and allowed some of them to roam the ship at will; the rest they kept in the hold. They believed the tortoises were capable of living for a year without eating or drinking water (though in fact the tortoises slowly starved). The sailors considered the tortoises delicious and extremely nutritious, planning to butcher them at sea as needed.
Hawksbill sea turtle
A series of biotic and abiotic cues, such as individual genetics, foraging quantity and quality, or population density, may trigger the maturation of the reproductive organs and the production of gametes and thus determine sexual maturity. Like many reptiles, all marine turtles of a same aggregation are highly unlikely to reach sexual maturity at the same size and thus age.
Age at maturity has been estimated to occur between 10 and 25 years of age for Caribbean hawksbills. Turtles nesting in the Indo-Pacific region may reach maturity at a minimum of 30 to 35 years.
Pinta Island
Pinta was the original home to Lonesome George, perhaps the most famous tortoise in the Galápagos Islands. He was the last known representative of the subspecies "Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii".
Pinta Island is also home to swallow-tailed gulls, marine iguanas, Galapagos hawks, Galapagos fur seals and a number of other birds and mammals. The most northern major island in the Galápagos, at one time Isla Pinta had a thriving tortoise population. The island's vegetation was devastated over several decades by introduced feral goats, thus diminishing food supplies for the native tortoises. A prolonged effort to exterminate goats introduced to Pinta was completed in 1990, and the vegetation of the island is starting to return to its former state.
Giant tortoise
Tortoises breed primarily during the hot season from January to May; however, tortoises can be seen mating any month of the year. During the cool season (June to November), female tortoises migrate to nesting zones, which are generally located in low lands of the islands, to lay their eggs. A female can lay from 1–4 nests over a nesting season from June to December. She digs the hole with her hind feet, then lets the eggs drop down into the nest, and finally covers it again with her hind feet. The number of eggs ranges from 2–7 for saddle-backed tortoises to sometimes more than 20–25 eggs for domed tortoises. The eggs incubate from 110 to 175 days (incubation periods depend on the month the nest was laid, with eggs laid early in the cool season requiring longer incubation periods than eggs laid at the end of the cool season when the majority of their incubation will occur at the start of the hot season). After hatching, the young hatchlings remain in the nest for a few weeks before emerging out a small hole adjacent to the nest cap. Usually the temperature of the nest influences on the sex of the hatchling. Warm temperatures would yield more females while colder temperatures would yield more males.The Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues once harboured five species of giant tortoise, comprising two species occurring on Mauritius, another two on Rodrigues, and one on Réunion. The tortoises were unique to these islands and had gained a number of special adaptations in the absence of ground predators. They differed from any other giant tortoise species because of their modified jaws, reduced scales on the legs and shells averaging just 1mm thick. The shells of the giant tortoises were open-ended; the name "Cylindraspis" actually means cylinder-shaped. This was a specific adaptation in response to the lack of predators, where thick, heavily armored shells were no longer necessary.
Galápagos tortoise
The Galápagos tortoises are native to seven of the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago about west of the Ecuadorian mainland. With lifespans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates. A captive individual lived at least 170 years. Spanish explorers, who discovered the islands in the 16th century, named them after the Spanish "galápago", meaning "tortoise".
Galápagos tortoise
Though the "Beagle" departed from the Galápagos with over 30 adult tortoises on deck, these were not for scientific study, but a source of fresh meat for the Pacific crossing. Their shells and bones were thrown overboard, leaving no remains with which to test any hypotheses. It has been suggested that this oversight was made because Darwin only reported seeing tortoises on San Cristóbal ("C. chathamensis") and Santiago ("C. darwini"), both of which have an intermediate type of shell shape and are not particularly morphologically distinct from each other. Though he did visit Floreana, the "C. nigra" species found there was already nearly extinct and he was unlikely to have seen any mature animals.
However, Darwin did have four live juvenile specimens to compare from different islands. These were pet tortoises taken by himself (from San Salvador), his captain FitzRoy (two from Española) and his servant Syms Covington (from Floreana). Unfortunately, they could not help to determine whether each island had its own variety because the specimens were not mature enough to exhibit morphological differences. Although the British Museum had a few specimens, their provenance within the Galápagos was unknown. However, conversations with the naturalist Gabriel Bibron, who had seen the mature tortoises of the Paris Natural History Museum confirmed to Darwin that distinct varieties occurred.
Galápagos Islands
Non-native goats, pigs, dogs, rats, cats, mice, sheep, horses, donkeys, cows, poultry, ants, cockroaches, and some parasites inhabit the islands today. Dogs and cats attack the tame birds and destroy the nests of birds, land tortoises, and marine turtles. They sometimes kill small Galápagos tortoises and iguanas. Pigs are even more harmful, covering larger areas and destroying the nests of tortoises, turtles and iguanas, as well as eating the animals' native food. Pigs also knock down vegetation in their search for roots and insects. This problem abounds in Cerro Azul volcano and Isabela, and in Santiago, pigs may be the cause of the disappearance of the land iguanas that were so abundant when Darwin visited. The black rat ("Rattus rattus") attacks small Galápagos tortoises when they leave the nest, so in Pinzón they stopped the reproduction for a period of more than 50 years; only adults were found on that island. Also, where the black rat is found, the endemic rat has disappeared. Cattle and donkeys eat all the available vegetation and compete with native species for the scarce water. In 1959, fishermen introduced one male and two female goats to Pinta island; by 1973, the National Park service estimated the population of goats to be over 30,000 individuals. Goats were also introduced to Marchena in 1967 and to Rabida in 1971. A goat eradication program, however, cleared the goats from Pinta and Santiago and most of the goat population from Isabela.
In fact, by 2006 all feral pigs, donkeys and non-sterile goats had been eliminated from Santiago and Isabela, the largest islands with the worst problems due to non-native mammals.
Kangaroo
Kangaroos have developed a number of adaptations to a dry, infertile country and highly variable climate. As with all marsupials, the young are born at a very early stage of development—after a gestation of 31–36 days. At this stage, only the forelimbs are somewhat developed, to allow the newborn to climb to the pouch and attach to a teat. In comparison, a human embryo at a similar stage of development would be about seven weeks old, and premature babies born at less than 23 weeks are usually not mature enough to survive. When the joey is born, it is about the size of a lima bean. The joey will usually stay in the pouch for about nine months (180–320 days for the Western Grey) before starting to leave the pouch for small periods of time. It is usually fed by its mother until reaching 18 months.
Crocodile
Measuring crocodile age is unreliable, although several techniques are used to derive a reasonable guess. The most common method is to measure lamellar growth rings in bones and teeth—each ring corresponds to a change in growth rate which typically occurs once a year between dry and wet seasons. Bearing these inaccuracies in mind, it can be safely said that all crocodile species have an average lifespan of at least 30–40 years, and in the case of larger species an average of 60–70 years. The oldest crocodiles appear to be the largest species. "C. porosus" is estimated to live around 70 years on average, with limited evidence of some individuals exceeding 100 years.
Galápagos tortoise
The Galápagos tortoise complex or Galápagos giant tortoise complex ("Chelonoidis nigra" and related species) are the largest living species of tortoise. Modern Galápagos tortoises can weigh up to . Today, giant tortoises exist only on two remote archipelagos: the Galápagos Islands 1000 km due west of mainland Ecuador, and Aldabra in the Indian Ocean, 700 km east of Tanzania.
Giant tortoise
These animals belong to an ancient group of reptiles, appearing about 250 million years ago. By the Upper Cretaceous, 70 or 80 million years ago, some had already become gigantic. About 1 million years ago tortoises reached the Galápagos Islands. Most of the gigantic species began to disappear about 100,000 years ago. Only 250 years ago there were at least 20 species and subspecies in islands of the Indian Ocean and 14 or 15 subspecies in the Galápagos Islands.
Desert tortoise
The desert tortoise lives about 50 to 80 years; it grows slowly and generally has a low reproductive rate. It spends most of its time in burrows, rock shelters, and pallets to regulate body temperature and reduce water loss. It is most active after seasonal rains and is inactive during most of the year. This inactivity helps reduce water loss during hot periods, whereas winter hibernation facilitates survival during freezing temperatures and low food availability. Desert tortoises can tolerate water, salt, and energy imbalances on a daily basis, which increases their lifespans.
Harriet (tortoise)
The tortoises collected by Darwin were all recorded in Fitzroy's journals of the voyage, including their measurements. As they averaged in length, and this represented an approximate age of 5 years for the subspecies, Harriet's year of birth was estimated by Scott Thomson to 1830, with an error of 2 years either way, in the 1995 paper describing the events of Harriet's life and the results of the research.
Galápagos green turtle
Numbers of mature adult Galápagos green turtle are much lower than those of other green sea turtle populations; this may be why they are more genetically isolated than other populations. The carapace is dark in color, usually black to dark olive-brown, is oval in shape, and tapers toward the tail. The carapace has a distinctive formation that is more sloped or domed than individuals of other populations. The five vertebral scutes are all alike in size with a hexagonal shape and flat edges. The lateral scutes are similar in size, but only four occur along each side. The carapace is tougher than the plastron, or the underside of the shell, and is also darker in pigmentation. They have been recorded up to 84 cm in length, while other green sea turtles have been recorded up to 99 cm in length. Their legs are shaped like flippers to aide in swimming; they are broad and generally flattened. The head is rounded and lizard-like with no teeth and does not have the predominantly hooked beak like many other green sea turtles. The sexes are similar in most aspects except size; the females are slightly larger, and the males have a longer tail.
Spider tortoise
Very little is known about the life cycle of this endangered tortoise, which is believed to live for up to 70 years. The remaining tortoises are found only in south western Madagascar, where they inhabit the spiny vegetation of the sandy coastal areas. Here they feed on young leaves, insect larvae, and even the droppings of larger animals.
Golden tortoise beetle
Female "Charidotella sexpunctata" lay clusters of eggs on stems and on the undersides of host leaves. A spiny, yellowish or reddish brown larva emerges from its egg in 5 through 10 days. A larva accumulates its shed skins and frass on a structure called an anal fork, which it positions over its body as a fecal shield, evidently hiding the larva from predators. This is usually effective against smaller insect predators such as ants, but not larger ones, such as hemipterans. After two through three weeks, a larval "Charidotella sexpunctata" becomes a spiny brown frass-covered pupa, and in one through two weeks later it emerges as an adult.
Galápagos tortoise
Threats
Collection
Radiated tortoise
The species is very long-lived. The oldest radiated tortoise ever recorded with certainty was Tu'i Malila, which died at an estimated age of 188. A tortoise named Adwaita is widely believed to have been even older at its death in 2006.
Galápagos tortoise
Population decline accelerated with the early settlement of the islands in the early 19th century, leading to unregulated hunting for meat, habitat clearance for agriculture, and the introduction of alien mammal species. Feral pigs, dogs, cats, and black rats have become predators of eggs and young tortoises, whilst goats, donkeys, and cattle compete for grazing and trample nest sites. The extinction of the Floreana species in the mid-19th century has been attributed to the combined pressures of hunting for the penal colony on the relatively small island, the conversion of the grazing highlands into land for farming and fruit plantations, and the introduction of feral mammals.
Tom, Dick and Harry
Tom, Dick and Harry is widely used throughout culture, so it is beyond the scope of this article to list every passing mention. However, some notable instances include the three Galapagos Island tortoises brought back to England aboard by Charles Darwin in 1835, as documented in his book, "The Voyage of the Beagle". They were named Tom, Dick and Harry. It was later discovered that "Harry" was a female and she was renamed "Harriet", and lived in captivity in Australia until her death in 2006, aged 175 years. In "", Robert Louis Stevenson refers to a general muster as calling up Dick, Tom, and Harry. In the television series "3rd Rock from the Sun", the three lead male characters were called Tommy, Dick and Harry. In 1948, the Cole Porter musical "Kiss Me, Kate" premiered on Broadway. The show featured the song "Tom, Dick or Harry". The three escape tunnels used by allied POWs in the famous Stalag Luft III escape were named "Tom, Dick, and Harry" by the POWs. This nomenclature was carried over to the film "The Great Escape", which portrayed the event.
Radiated tortoise
The male then proceeds to mount the female from the rear while striking the anal region of his plastron against the female’s carapace. Hissing and grunting by the male during mating is common. This is a very dangerous procedure and cases have been recorded where the female's shell has cracked and pierced the vaginal and anal cavities. Females lay from three to 12 eggs in a previously excavated hole 6-8 in (15–20 cm) deep, and then depart.
Incubation is quite long in this species, lasting usually between 5 and 8 months. Juveniles are between 1.2 and 1.6 inches (3.2 and 4 cm) upon hatching. Unlike the yellow coloration of the adults, the juveniles are a white to an off-white shade. Juveniles attain the high-domed carapace soon after hatching.
Desert tortoise
Tortoises mate in the spring and autumn. Male desert tortoises grow two large white glands around the chin area, called chin glands, that signify mating season. A male circles around female, biting her shell in the process. He then climbs upon the female and insert his penis (a white organ, usually only seen upon careful inspection during mating, as it is hidden inside the male and can only be coaxed out with sexual implication) into the vagina of a female, which is located around the tail. The male may make grunting noises once atop a female, and may move his front legs up and down in a constant motion, as if playing a drum.
Months later, the female lays a clutch of four to eight hard-shelled eggs, which have the size and shape of ping-pong balls, usually in June or July. The eggs hatch in August or September. Wild female tortoises produce up to three clutches a year depending on the climate. Their eggs incubate from 90 to 135 days; some eggs may overwinter and hatch the following spring. In a laboratory experiment, temperature influenced hatching rates and hatchling gender. Incubation temperatures from resulted in hatching rates exceeding 83%, while incubation at resulted in a 53% hatching rate. Incubation temperatures less than resulted in all-male clutches. Average incubation time decreased from 124.7 days at 77 °F to 78.2 days at .
Gopherus
Gopher tortoises usually mate during the months of April and May. The female will then choose either a sunny spot nearby or a sandy mound in front of her burrow to lay between 3 and 15 eggs. The eggs then hatch from 70 to 100 days later. Once hatched the baby tortoises spend most of their time in their mother's burrow until they learn to dig their own. They do not reach maturity until they are around 10 to 15 years old. Gopher tortoises have an abbreviated mating season in early spring, when male tortoises visit the female tortoise' burrows and mate with them.
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
The small Natural History Museum (Museo de Ciencias Naturales) has a statue of Charles Darwin at the entrance. It is located in the heart of the town to the east of the Parque la Carolina, next to the Franciscan mission. It contains exhibits of many animals, plants and minerals of the Galápagos. Of note is a giant tortoise, which is said to be more than 80 years old; an exhibit of a predecessor species of iguana; the flightless cormorant; and the Galapagos tortoise – three drawings for each of these fauna are on display.
List of Maximum Ride characters
The Director pulls the strings for the School and Itex and claims to be one of the few successful Itex species combinations. She plans the Re-Evolution and By-Half Plans. The Director claims to be a hybrid human—Galápagos tortoise, 107 years old. She is the reason Max had a chip implanted in her arm. The chip recorded Max's flight speed and height, giving the Director information to relay to the Chinese scientists.
Galápagos tortoise
Efforts are now underway to repopulate islands formerly inhabited by tortoises to restore their ecosystems (island restoration) to their condition before humans arrived. The tortoises are a keystone species, acting as ecosystem engineers which help in plant seed dispersal and trampling down brush and thinning the understory of vegetation (allowing light to penetrate and germination to occur). Birds such as flycatchers perch on and fly around tortoises to hunt the insects they displace from the brush. In May 2010, 39 sterilised tortoises of hybrid origin were introduced to Pinta Island, the first tortoises there since the evacuation of Lonesome George 38 years before. Sterile tortoises were released so the problem of interbreeding between species would be avoided if any fertile tortoises were to be released in the future. It is hoped that with the recent identification of a hybrid "C. abingdonii" tortoise, the approximate genetic constitution of the original inhabitants of Pinta may eventually be restored with the identification and relocation of appropriate specimens to this island. This approach may be used to "retortoise" Floreana in the future, since captive individuals have been found to be descended from the extinct original stock.The Galapagos Tortoise Movement Ecology Programme is a collaborative project coordinated by Dr Stephen Blake of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. Its goal is to assist the Galapagos National Park to effectively conserve giant tortoises by conducting cutting-edge applied science, and developing an inspirational tortoise-based outreach and education programme. Since 2009, the project team have been analysing the movements of giant tortoises by tracking them via satellite tags. As of November 2014, the team have tagged 83 tortoises from four species on three islands. They have established that giant tortoises conduct migrations up and down volcanoes, primarily in response to seasonal changes in the availability and quality of vegetation. In 2015 they will start to track the movements of hatchling and juvenile tortoises, supported by the UK's Galapagos Conservation Trust.
Galápagos tortoise
Breeding and release programs began in 1965 and have successfully brought seven of the eight endangered species up to less perilous population levels. Young tortoises are raised at several breeding centres across the islands to improve their survival during their vulnerable early development. Eggs are collected from threatened nesting sites, and the hatched young are given a head start by being kept in captivity for four to five years to reach a size with a much better chance of survival to adulthood, before release onto their native ranges.
Galapagos shark
Like other requiem sharks, the Galapagos shark exhibits a viviparous mode of reproduction, in which the developing embryos are sustained by a placental connection formed from the depleted yolk sac. Females bear young once every 2–3 years. Mating takes place from January to March, at which time scars caused by male courtship bites appear on the females. The gestation period is estimated to be around one year; the spring following impregnation, females move into shallow nursery areas and give birth to 4–16 pups. The size at birth has been reported to be , though observations of free-swimming juveniles as small as long in the eastern Pacific suggest that birth size varies geographically. Juvenile sharks remain in shallow water to avoid predation by larger adults. Males mature at long and 6–8 years old, while females mature at long and 7–9 years old. Neither sex is thought to reproduce until 10 years of age. The lifespan of this species is at least 24 years.
Tyrannosauridae
Other tyrannosaurids exhibit extremely similar growth curves, although with lower growth rates corresponding to their lower adult sizes. Compared to albertosaurines, "Daspletosaurus" showed a faster growth rate during the rapid growth period due to its higher adult weight. The maximum growth rate in "Daspletosaurus" was per year, based on a mass estimate of in adults. Other authors have suggested higher adult weights for "Daspletosaurus"; this would change the magnitude of the growth rate, but not the overall pattern. The youngest known "Albertosaurus" is a two-year-old discovered in the Dry Island bonebed, which would have weighed about and measured slightly more than in length. The specimen from the same quarry is the oldest and largest known, at 28 years of age. The fastest growth rate is estimated to occur around 12–16 years of age, reaching per year, based on a adult, which is about a fifth of the rate for "T.-rex". For "Gorgosaurus", the calculated maximum growth rate is about during the rapid growth phase, which is comparable to that of "Albertosaurus".
Lonesome George
On June 24, 2012, at 8:00 am local time, Galápagos National Park director Edwin Naula announced that Lonesome George had been found dead by Fausto Llerana, who looked after him for 40 years. Naula suspected that the cause of death was cardiac arrest. A necropsy confirmed that George died from natural causes. The body of Lonesome George was frozen and shipped to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City to be preserved by taxidermists. The preservation work was carried out by the museum's taxidermist George Dante, with input from scientists.
After a short display at the museum, it was expected that Lonesome George would be returned to the Galápagos and displayed at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island for future generations to see. However, a dispute broke out between an Ecuadorean ministry and the Galápagos Islands over where the preserved body of a Galapagos giant tortoise should be housed. The Ecuadorean government wanted him to be shown in the capital, Quito, but the Galápagos local mayor said Lonesome George was a symbol of the islands and should return home.
Pitcairn Islands
Between 1937 and 1951, Irving Johnson, skipper of the brigantine "Yankee Five", introduced five Galápagos giant tortoises to Pitcairn. Turpen, also known as Mr. Turpen or Mr. T, is the sole survivor. Turpen usually lives at Tedside by Western Harbour. A protection order makes it an offence should anyone kill, injure, capture, maim, or cause harm or distress to the tortoise.
Galápagos green turtle
Galápagos green turtles, grouped with all populations of "Chelonia mydas", are listed on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. They were placed on the list in the mid 1980s and have remained under protection since. One of the major problems that have led to their decline is the slow growth rate and long period from juvenile to sexual maturity. Chelonians average a period of 26–40 years to maturity; the Galápagos green turtle averages 33 years. The green sea turtle has been shown to have the slowest growth rate of any species of sea turtle and is generally long-lived if left undisturbed. Overall, populations of "C. mydas" have had a decrease of about 48–67% of nesting females, but the population that nests in the Galápagos has remained quite steady with little to no change. The population of nesting females recorded in the Galápagos from 1976–1982 was roughly 1400 individuals and after further evaluation in 1999–2001, around 1400 nesting females were found.
Galápagos tortoise
In combination with proportionally longer necks and limbs, the unusual saddleback carapace structure is thought to be an adaptation to increase vertical reach, which enables the tortoise to browse tall vegetation such as the "Opuntia" (prickly pear) cactus that grows in arid environments. Saddlebacks are more territorial and smaller than domed varieties, possibly adaptations to limited resources. Alternatively, larger tortoises may be better-suited to high elevations because they can resist the cooler temperatures that occur with cloud cover or fog.
Giant tortoise
Aldabra giant tortoises reproduce and lay up to 25 rubbery eggs between February and May. Mating is a noisy process, with the males bellowing like a bull, and chasing after the females. During copulation, the male's tail guides his penis into position to fertilize the female, with copulation lasting for 10–15 minutes. Eggs are deposited into a dry, shallow nest on the ground making them particularly vulnerable to being eaten by predators. It is thought that female Aldabra giant tortoises are able to produce more than one clutch a year. The hatchlings emerge after an incubation period of 8 months. The baby Aldabra giant tortoises tend to all emerge during the same two week period which coincides with the arrival of the rainy season. They reach sexual maturity at around the age of 30 years. Although some individuals have been known to live for more than 250 years, their life expectancy is between 80 and 120 years old.
Rio Grande cutthroat trout
Rio Grande cutthroat trout typically spawn between mid-May and mid-June. Males are sexually mature at age two; females mature at age three. They live an average of five years, but in rare cases, may survive into their teens. Rio Grande cutthroat feed opportunistically on aquatic insects and terrestrial insects that fall into the water.
Harriet (tortoise)
Harriet (c. 1830 – 23 June 2006) was a Galápagos tortoise ("Geochelone nigra porteri") who had an estimated age of 175 years at the time of her death in Australia. Harriet is one of the longest-lived known tortoises, behind Tu'i Malila, who died in 1965 at the age of 188, and possibly Adwaita, who died in 2006 at an estimated age of between 150 and 255 years.
Galapagos land iguana
It is estimated that the Galapagos land iguana has a 50 to 60-year lifespan.
Angonoka tortoise
It is expected to become sexually mature once reaching 15 years old. The tortoise can produce one to six eggs per clutch and up to four clutches every season. The reproductive season is from January 15 to May 30. The angonoka tortoise's reproductive patterns coincide with the seasonal rainfall patterns of the region, with both mating and hatching occurring at the onset of the rainy seasons. With a 71.9% fertility rate and a 54.6% hatching success rate, about 4.3 hatchlings are produced per female tortoise.
Galápagos green turtle
Female Galápagos green turtles most often only lay eggs every 2–3 years and spend the time between resting and foraging. Fertilization occurs under water with only females emerging for nesting. Mating has not been witnessed outside of the nesting season and usually occurs off shore near the nesting sites. Nesting space can be somewhat limited due to the consistency of the beaches in the Galápagos, being of volcanic origin. Many rocky areas and cliffs are present, with limited space on sandy beaches. Also, the sandy areas tend to be quite dry, and this causes many cave-ins of the nests. Females in the Galápagos have modified their nesting habits due to this factor and usually keep one hind flipper in the nest while depositing the eggs to prevent the unwanted cave-in. Clutch size varies from 50 to 200 eggs per nest and can take up to three hours to accomplish. However, Galápagos green turtles are known to have smaller clutch sizes than other populations. After the eggs are laid, the female covers them with sand and presses down with her plastron for compaction. They have also been noted to make a false nest next to their primary nest to try to fool predators. When leaving, the female turtle attempts to cover any trace of her presence by flinging sand around in the nest area.
Aldabrachelys gigantea arnoldi
Giant tortoises are among the longest-lived animals on the planet. Some individual Aldabra giant tortoises are thought to be over 200 years of age, but this is difficult to verify because they tend to outlive their human observers. Adwaita was reputedly one of four brought by British seamen from the Seychelles Islands as gifts to Robert Clive of the British East India Company in the 18th century, and came to the Calcutta Zoo in 1875. At his death in March 2006 at the Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) Zoo in India, Adwaita is reputed to have reached the longest ever measured life span of 255 years (birth year 1750). Today, Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise, is thought to be the oldest living giant tortoise at the age of 184 years and Esmeralda second at the age of 170 years, since the death of Harriet, a Galapagos giant tortoise, at 176. Esmeralda is an Aldabra giant tortoise.
Galápagos green turtle
The unique morphological distinctions of the Galápagos green turtle have given rise to the debate. The two most notable distinctions are the considerably smaller adult size and the much darker pigmentation of the carapace, plastron, and extremities. Other distinctions are the curving of the carapace above each hind flipper, the more dome-shaped carapace, and the very long tail of adult males. The main argument that separates "agassizii" from other "Chelonia" populations is that with a smaller adult size, mating with a female black sea turtle would be very difficult for a male of another subpopulation. A male sea turtle must have a fairly strong hold of the female's carapace during mating to successfully copulate; with the female "agassizii" being much smaller, this feat would be impossible. This, in turn, creates an isolation of "agassizii" from the genetic variations shared by other populations of green sea turtles in the Pacific.
Gopher tortoise
The gopher tortoise reaches maturity at about 10–15 years of age, when their shells are around long. They may mate from February through September, with a peak throughout May and June. Females may lay clutches of 3–14 eggs, depending on body size, in a sandy mound very close to the entrance of their burrow.
Galapagos land iguana
Galapagos land iguanas become sexually mature anywhere between eight and fifteen years of age, depending on which island they are from. Mating season also varies between islands, but soon after mating, the females migrate to sandy areas to nest, laying 2–20 eggs in a burrow about deep. The eggs hatch anywhere from 90 to 125 days later.
Bocaccio rockfish
The bocaccio is one of the larger rockfish and can grow up to in length and live to 45 years. A bocaccio that is long is around 3–4 years old and a long fish is 7–8 years old. Females grow faster than males and also live longer. There is a difference in maturity rates from north to south. Southern California bocaccio mature at 14 inches and reproduce at around , while northern males mature at 22 inches and females at 24 inches. They are viviparous rockfish; in Southern California they spawn their larvae in 2 or more batches and spawning occurs almost all year. In Central and Northern California they spawn from January to May, while further north spawning is restricted to January to March. One female can produce over 2 million eggs per season. Coloration is olive-brown dorsally becoming pink to red ventrally.
Galápagos tortoise
Tortoise numbers declined from over 250,000 in the 16th century to a low of around 3,000 in the 1970s. This decline was caused by overexploitation of the species for meat and oil, habitat clearance for agriculture, and introduction of non-native animals to the islands, such as rats, goats, and pigs. The extinction of most giant tortoise lineages is thought to have also been caused by predation by humans or human ancestors, as the tortoises themselves have no natural predators. Tortoise populations on at least three islands have become extinct in historical times due to human activities. Specimens of these extinct taxa exist in several museums and also are being subjected to DNA analysis. Ten species of the original 15 survive in the wild; an 11th species ("Chelonoidis abingdonii") had only a single known living individual, kept in captivity and nicknamed Lonesome George until his death in June 2012. Conservation efforts, beginning in the 20th century, have resulted in thousands of captive-bred juveniles being released onto their ancestral home islands, and the total number of the species is estimated to have exceeded 19,000 at the start of the 21st century. Despite this rebound, the species as a whole is classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Galápagos sea lion
When wet, sea lions are a shade of dark brown, but once dry, their color varies greatly. The females tend to be a lighter shade than the males and the pups a chestnut brown. Born with a longer, brownish-black lanugo, a pup's coat gradually fades to brown within the first five months of life. At this time, they undergo their first molt, resulting in their adult coat. 
The age of maturity for Galápagos sea lions is estimated at about 4–5 years. The life span of Galapagos sea lions is estimated to be at 15–24 years.
Kangaroo
Kangaroo reproduction is similar to that of opossums. The egg (still contained in the shell membrane, a few micrometres thick, and with only a small quantity of yolk within it) descends from the ovary into the uterus. There it is fertilised and quickly develops into a neonate. Even in the largest kangaroo (the red kangaroo), the neonate emerges after only 33 days. Usually, only one young is born at a time. It is blind, hairless, and only a few centimetres long; its hindlegs are mere stumps; it instead uses its more developed forelegs to climb its way through the thick fur on its mother's abdomen into the pouch, which takes about three to five minutes. Once in the pouch, it fastens onto one of the four teats and starts to feed. Almost immediately, the mother's sexual cycle starts again. Another egg descends into the uterus and she becomes sexually receptive. Then, if she mates and a second egg is fertilised, its development is temporarily halted. Meanwhile, the neonate in the pouch grows rapidly. After about 190 days, the baby (joey) is sufficiently large and developed to make its full emergence out of the pouch, after sticking its head out for a few weeks until it eventually feels safe enough to fully emerge. From then on, it spends increasing time in the outside world and eventually, after about 235 days, it leaves the pouch for the last time. The lifespan of kangaroos averages at six years in the wild to in excess of 20 years in captivity, varying by species. Most individuals, however, do not reach maturity in the wild.
Galápagos tortoise
Tortoises share a mutualistic relationship with some species of Galápagos finch and mockingbirds. Small groups of finches initiate the process by hopping on the ground in an exaggerated fashion facing the tortoise. The tortoise signals it is ready by rising up and extending its neck and legs, enabling the birds to reach otherwise inaccessible spots on the tortoise's body such as the neck, rear legs, cloacal opening, and skin between plastron and carapace. The birds benefit from the food source and the tortoises get rid of irritating ectoparasites.
Galápagos tortoise
The remaining species of tortoise range in IUCN classification from extinct in the wild to vulnerable. Slow growth rate, late sexual maturity, and island endemism make the tortoises particularly prone to extinction without help from conservationists. The Galápagos giant tortoise has become a flagship species for conservation efforts throughout the Galápagos.
The Galápagos giant tortoise is now strictly protected and is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The listing requires that trade in the taxon and its products is subject to strict regulation by ratifying states, and international trade for primarily commercial purposes is prohibited. In 1936, the Ecuadorian government listed the giant tortoise as a protected species. In 1959, it declared all uninhabited areas in the Galápagos to be a national park and established the Charles Darwin Foundation. In 1970, capturing or removing many species from the islands (including tortoises and their eggs) was banned. To halt trade in the tortoises altogether, it became illegal to export the tortoises from Ecuador, captive or wild, continental, or insular in provenance. The banning of their exportation resulted in automatic prohibition of importation to the United States under Public Law 91-135 (1969). A 1971 Ecuadorian decree made it illegal to damage, remove, alter, or disturb any organism, rock, or other natural object in the National Park.With the establishment of the Galapagos National Park and the CDF in 1959, a review of the status of the tortoise populations began. Only 11 of the 14 original populations remained and most of these were endangered if not already on the brink of extinction. The breeding and rearing program for giant tortoises began in response to the condition of the population on Pinzón, where fewer than 200 old adults were found. All of the hatchlings had been killed by introduced black rats, for perhaps more than a century. Without help, this population would eventually disappear. The only thing preserving it was the longevity of the tortoise. Its genetic resistance to the negative effects of inbreeding would be another.
Galápagos tortoise
In 2015, the Cerro Fatal tortoises were described as a distinct taxon, "donfaustoi". Prior to the identification of this species through genetic analysis, it was noted that there existed differences in shells between the Cerro Fatal tortoises and other tortoises on Santa Cruz. By classifying the Cerro Fatal tortoises into a new taxon, greater attention can be paid to protecting its habitat, according to Adalgisa Caccone, who is a member of the team making this classification.
Galápagos tortoise
Phylogenetic analysis may help to "resurrect" the extinct species of Floreana ("C. nigra") – a species known only from subfossil remains. Some tortoises from Isabela were found to be a partial match for the genetic profile of Floreana specimens from museum collections, possibly indicating the presence of hybrids from a population transported by humans from Floreana to Isabela, resulting either from individuals deliberately transported between the islands, or from individuals thrown overboard from ships to lighten the load. Nine Floreana descendants have been identified in the captive population of the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center on Santa Cruz; the genetic footprint was identified in the genomes of hybrid offspring. This allows the possibility of re-establishing a reconstructed species from selective breeding of the hybrid animals. Furthermore, individuals from the species possibly are still extant. Genetic analysis from a sample of tortoises from Volcan Wolf found 84 first-generation "C. nigra" hybrids, some less than 15 years old. The genetic diversity of these individuals is estimated to have required 38 "C. nigra" parents, many of which could still be alive on Isabela Island.
Alligator snapping turtle
Maturity is reached around 12 years of age. Mating takes place yearly, in early spring in the southern part of their total range, and later spring in the north. The female builds a nest and lays a clutch of 10–50 eggs about two months later. The sex of the young depends on the temperature at which the eggs are incubated. Nests are typically excavated at least 50 yards from the water's edge to prevent them from being flooded and drowned. Incubation takes from 100 to 140 days, and hatchlings emerge in the early fall.
Galápagos tortoise
Scientific collection expeditions took 661 tortoises between 1888 and 1930, and more than 120 tortoises have been taken by poachers since 1990. Threats continue today with the rapid expansion of the tourist industry and increasing size of human settlements on the islands. The tortoises are down from 15 different types of species when Darwin first arrived down to 11.
Kilgore Trout
"Galápagos" is narrated by Leon Trotsky Trout (1946–1986), the son and only child of Kilgore Trout. Leon ran away at the age of 16, ashamed of his father, and never had any contact with him thereafter, until his death, when Kilgore appeared at the door of the "blue tunnel" that leads to the Afterlife. Kilgore appears at the door to the tunnel, urging his son to enter and proceed to the Afterlife. Three times Leon refuses, on the grounds that he wants to see more of human life in the hope of understanding it. During Kilgore's fourth appearance at the entrance to the blue tunnel, he threatens his son: if Leon doesn't leave the Earth immediately, the blue tunnel won't appear again for one million years. Since Kilgore has never lied to Leon, Leon knows this will come true. He is momentarily distracted by events on Earth, and the tunnel disappears. "Galápagos" contains several flashback scenes that explain the breakup between Kilgore and his wife. Leon states that he became a US Marine because his father was one. Trout's appearance in "Galápagos" is somewhat problematic for Vonnegut's continuity because the novel explicitly states that Kilgore dies before 1986, when the events of the novel take place. Yet "Timequake" finds him alive more than ten years later. In "Galápagos", Leon uses his omniscient status as a ghost to confirm that he never fathered a child, so that Kilgore never had any descendants.
Georg Baur
Georg Baur (1859–1898) was a vertebrate paleontologist and Neo-Lamarckian who studied reptiles of the Galapagos Islands, particularly the Galápagos tortoises, in the 1890s. He is perhaps best known for his subsidence theory of the origin of the Galapagos Islands, where he postulated the islands were the remains of a former landmass, connected to South America via Cocos Island.
African spurred tortoise
"C. sulcata" is the third-largest species of tortoise in the world after the Galapagos tortoise, and Aldabra giant tortoise, and the largest of the mainland tortoises. Adults can reach and can weigh . They grow from hatchling size (2–3 in) very quickly, reaching 6-10 in (15–25 cm) within the first few years of their lives. They can live more than 70 years.
Pinzón Island
During January 2012, invasive rodents were removed from the island by The Galápagos National Park, assisted by Island Conservation to benefit the Pinzón Giant Tortoise. An infestation of non-native rats began in the mid 18th century with the arrival of European sailors. The rats devastated the tortoise population by eating their eggs and young hatchlings that were too small to defend themselves. In December 2014, after 100 years the first new generation of tortoise hatchlings were spotted on Pinzón.
List of Ben 10 characters
Galapagus (a play on the "Galápagos Islands", home to the Galápagos tortoise) is a turtle-like creature and Terraspin's genetic donor. Like the other members of his species, he is gentle, kind, and easily scared.
Galápagos tortoise
Regarding their senses, Charles Darwin observed, "The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking near behind them. I was always amused, when overtaking one of these great monsters as it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I passed, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss fall to the ground with a heavy sound, as if struck dead." Although they are not deaf, tortoises depend far more on vision and smell as stimuli than hearing.
Desert tortoise
Desert tortoises generally reach reproductive maturity at age 15 to 20 years, when they are longer than 7 in (18 cm), though 10-year-old reproductive females have been observed.
Loggerhead sea turtle
Like all marine turtles, the loggerhead prepares for reproduction in its foraging area. This takes place several years before the loggerhead migrates to a mating area. Female loggerheads first reproduce at ages 28–33 in Southeastern United States and Australia, and at ages 17–30 in South Africa. Age at first reproduction in the Mediterranean, Oman, Japan, and Brazil are unknown. Nesting loggerheads have a straight carapace length of . Because of the large range, carapace length is not a reliable indicator of sexual maturity. Their estimated maximum lifespan is 47–67 years in the wild.
Female loggerheads first reproduce between the ages of 17 and 33, and their mating period may last more than six weeks. They court their mates, but these behaviors have not been thoroughly examined. Male forms of courtship behavior include nuzzling, biting, and head and flipper movements. Studies suggest females produce cloacal pheromones to indicate reproductive ability. Before mating, the male approaches a female and attempts to mount her, while she resists. Next, the male and female begin to circle each other. If the male has competitors, the female may let the males struggle with each other. The winner then mounts the female; the male's curved claws usually damage the shoulders of the female's shell during this process. Other courting males bite the male while he is attempting to copulate, damaging his flippers and tail, possibly exposing bones. Such damage can cause the male to dismount and may require weeks to heal.
While nesting, females produce an average of 3.9 egg clutches, and then become quiescent, producing no eggs for two to three years. Unlike other sea turtles, courtship and mating usually do not take place near the nesting beach, but rather along migration routes between feeding and breeding grounds. Recent evidence indicates ovulation in loggerheads is mating-induced. Through the act of mating, the female ovulates eggs which are fertilized by the male. This is unique, as mating-induced ovulation is rare outside of mammals. In the Northern Hemisphere, loggerheads mate from late March to early June. The nesting season is short, between May and August in the Northern Hemisphere and between October and March in the Southern Hemisphere.
Alcedo Volcano
In a 2003 study of the subspecies of Galapagos tortoise on Alcedo, "Geochelone nigra vandenburghi" the genetic diversity was shown to be much lower than would be expected in a population of its size, currently estimated to be approximately 4000. The Alcedo tortoise has the largest wild populations in the Galapagos Islands, however, the genetic diversity was 3-5 times less than that of other sub species of Galapagos tortoise. This low diversity is believed to be caused by a massive reduction in the population approximately 100,000 years ago. The reduction in population to only a few individuals is believed to have been caused by a large eruption of Alcedo volcano. The Alcedo tortoise has managed to rebuild its population since that time. Since the islands discovery by man it has come under new pressure, as have other Galapagos tortoises. They were hunted by early sailors to the islands as tortoises provided a food source on subsequent voyages. The introduction of non-native species also affected the habitat of the tortoise and other fauna and flora on Alcedo.
Giant tortoise
Giant tortoises are characteristic reptiles that are currently found on two groups of tropical islands: the Aldabra Atoll and Fregate Island in Seychelles and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador (a population at the Mascarene Islands was exterminated by the 1900s). These tortoises can weigh as much as and can grow to be long. Giant tortoises originally made their way to islands from the mainland; for example, the Aldabra Atoll and Mascarenes giant tortoises are related to Madagascar tortoises while the Galapagos giant tortoises are related to Ecuador mainland tortoises. This phenomenon of excessive growth is known as island gigantism or insular gigantism. It occurs when the size of the animals that are isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to their mainland relatives. This is due to several factors such as relaxed predation pressure, competitive release, or as an adaptation to increased environmental fluctuations on islands. However, giant tortoises are no longer considered to have been examples of island gigantism, as they originally evolved their massive sizes on the mainland. Giant tortoises were once common across the Cenozoic faunas of Eurasia, Africa and the Americas.
Greek tortoise
The Greek tortoise ("Testudo graeca"), also known commonly as the spur-thighed tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. "Testudo graeca" is one of five species of Mediterranean tortoises (genera "Testudo" and "Agrionemys"). The other four species are Hermann's tortoise ("Testudo hermanni" ), the Egyptian tortoise ("Testudo kleinmanni" ), the marginated tortoise ("Testudo marginata"), and the Russian tortoise ("Agrionemys horsfieldii" ). The Greek tortoise is a very long-lived animal, achieving a lifespan of upwards of 125 years, with some unverified reports of up to 200 years.
Desert tortoise
The desert tortoise grows slowly, often taking 16 years or longer to reach about 8 in (20 cm) in length. The growth rate varies with age, location, gender and precipitation. It can slow down from 12 mm/year for ages 4–8 years to about 6.0 mm/year for ages 16 to 20 years. Males and females grow at similar rates; females can grow slightly faster when young, but males grow larger than females.
Galápagos tortoise
The significance of the differences in tortoises between islands did not strike him as important until it was too late, as he continued,
"I did not for some time pay sufficient attention to this statement, and I had already partially mingled together the collections from two of the islands. I never dreamed that islands, about fifty or sixty miles apart, and most of them in sight of each other, formed of precisely the same rocks, placed under a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly equal height, would have been differently tenanted".
Tyrannosauridae
The smallest known "Tyrannosaurus rex" individual (LACM 28471, the "Jordan theropod") is estimated to have weighed only at only 2 years old, while the largest, such as FMNH PR2081 ("Sue"), most likely weighed about , estimated to have been 28 years old, an age which may have been close to the maximum for the species. "T. rex" juveniles remained under until approximately 14 years of age, when body size began to increase dramatically. During this rapid growth phase, a young "T. rex" would gain an average of a year for the next four years. This slowed after 16 years, and at 18 years of age, the curve plateaus again, indicating that growth slowed dramatically. For example, only separated the 28-year-old "Sue" from a 22-year-old Canadian specimen (RTMP 81.12.1). This sudden change in growth rate may indicate physical maturity, a hypothesis that is supported by the discovery of medullary tissue in the femur of an 18-year-old "T. rex" from Montana (MOR 1125, also known as "B-rex"). Medullary tissue is found only in female birds during ovulation, indicating that "B-rex" was of reproductive age.
Florida mouse
Gestation is about 23 or 24 days. The mice dig side burrows off the main burrow of the gopher tortoise, line them with shredded plant material, and use them as nurseries. In eight litters of young conceived in the wild but born in the laboratory, litter size numbers varied from two to four for an average of 3.1 per litter. The young are born in nests in the burrow. Newborn weigh and measure in total length ; tail length ; and hind foot length . Teeth begin appearing on the fourth day, the young are active and agile about the 10th day, and the eyes open about the 16th day. Nursing is virtually non-stop for the first two weeks of life. Weaning occurs at three to four weeks, and the young display adult behavior at this time.
Long-tailed goral
The goral's average lifespan in the wild is 10–15 years, although a captive goral was aged at 17 years." The females will go into a 30- to 40-hour estrus cycle once per year, when they can be fertilized by a male. At the end of a 215-day gestation period, they give birth to one offspring, or very rarely twins." Breeding within the zoo systems has been successful, with the San Diego Zoo especially so.
Galápagos tortoise
The tortoises have a large bony shell of a dull brown or gray colour. The plates of the shell are fused with the ribs in a rigid protective structure that is integral to the skeleton. Lichens can grow on the shells of these slow-moving animals. Tortoises keep a characteristic scute (shell segment) pattern on their shells throughout life, though the annual growth bands are not useful for determining age because the outer layers are worn off with time. A tortoise can withdraw its head, neck, and fore limbs into its shell for protection. The legs are large and stumpy, with dry, scaly skin and hard scales. The front legs have five claws, the back legs four.
Tortoise
Tortoises generally have one of the longest lifespans of any animal, and some individuals are known to have lived longer than 150 years.
Because of this, they symbolize longevity in some cultures, such as China. The oldest tortoise ever recorded, and one of the oldest individual animals ever recorded, was Tu'i Malila, which was presented to the Tongan royal family by the British explorer Captain Cook shortly after its birth in 1777. Tu'i Malila remained in the care of the Tongan royal family until its death by natural causes on May 19, 1965, at the age of 188. The record for the longest-lived vertebrate is exceeded only by one other, a koi named Hanako whose death on July 17, 1977, ended a 226-year lifespan.
Cockatoo
Cockatoos are often very affectionate with their owner and at times other people but can demand a great deal of attention. Furthermore, their intense curiosity means they must be given a steady supply of objects to tinker with, chew, dismantle and destroy. Parrots in captivity may suffer from boredom, which can lead to stereotypic behaviour patterns, such as feather-plucking. Feather plucking is likely to stem from psychological rather than physical causes. Other major drawbacks include their painful bites, and their piercing screeches. The salmon-crested and white cockatoo species are particular offenders. All cockatoos have a fine powder on their feathers, which may induce allergies in certain people. In general, the smaller cockatoo species such as Goffin's and quieter Galah's cockatoos are much easier to keep as pets. The cockatiel is one of the most popular and easiest parrots to keep as a pet, and many colour mutations are available in aviculture.
Larger cockatoos can live 30 to 70 years depending on the species, or occasionally longer, and cockatiels can live for about 20 years. As pets they require a long-term commitment from their owners. Their longevity is considered a positive trait as it reduces instances of the loss of a pet. The oldest cockatoo in captivity was a Major Mitchell's cockatoo named "Cookie", residing at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, which lived to be 83 years old (1933–2016). A salmon-crested cockatoo named 'King Tut' who resided at San Diego Zoo was nearly 69 when he died in 1990 and a palm cockatoo reached 56 in London Zoo in 2000. However, anecdotal reports describe birds of much greater ages. 'Cocky Bennett' of Tom Ugly's Point in Sydney was a celebrated sulphur-crested cockatoo who was reported to have reached an age of 100 years or more. He had lost his feathers and was naked for much of his life. A palm cockatoo was reported to have reached 80 or 90 years of age in an Australian zoo, and a little corella that was removed from a nest in central Australia in 1904 was reported still alive in the late 1970s. In February 2010, a white cockatoo named 'Arthur' was claimed to be 90 years old; he had lived with a family for generations in Dalaguete, Cebu, before being taken to Cebu City Zoo.
Marginated tortoise
The incubation period averages about 100 days under natural conditions, which is relatively short among tortoises. Many tropical tortoises have incubation periods of up to 200 days. The relatively short time is an adaptation to the subtropical Mediterranean climate, where the summers are not as long. In an incubator, this time is notably shorter: with an incubation temperature of the eggs will begin hatching after 60 days.
Adwaita
His shell cracked in late 2005, and a wound developed in the flesh underneath the crack. The wound became infected, which eventually led to his death from liver failure on 22 March 2006. Adwaita is estimated to have been at least 150 years old at the time of his death. Some estimates suggest the animal may have been at least 255 years old at the time of his death. If this latter estimate can be confirmed, Adwaita would have been the oldest known tortoise of modern times, living longer than Harriet by 80 years, and Tu'i Malila by 67 years.
Sea otter
Females become sexually mature at around three or four years of age and males at around five; however, males often do not successfully breed until a few years later. A captive male sired offspring at age 19. In the wild, sea otters live to a maximum age of 23 years, with average lifespans of 10–15 years for males and 15–20 years for females. Several captive individuals have lived past 20 years, and a female at the Seattle Aquarium died at the age of 28 years. Sea otters in the wild often develop worn teeth, which may account for their apparently shorter lifespans.
Georg Baur
Prior to his work on the Galapagos Islands, Baur was an assistant to Othniel Charles Marsh at Yale University from 1884 until 1890. Baur undertook an expedition to the Galápagos Islands in 1891, leaving New York on May 1, arriving in the Galápagos on June 9, and departing the islands on August 26 for Guayaquil, Panama, and the return to New York. Baur named several subspecies of Galápagos tortoise, including "Chelonoidis nigra guentheri" (Baur, 1889), and "Chelonoidis nigra galapagoensis" (Baur, 1889). Not all of Baur's tortoise taxa are still considered valid.
Galápagos tortoise
On the larger and more humid islands, the tortoises seasonally migrate between low elevations, which become grassy plains in the wet season, and meadowed areas of higher elevation (up to ) in the dry season. The same routes have been used for many generations, creating well-defined paths through the undergrowth known as "tortoise highways". On these wetter islands, the domed tortoises are gregarious and often found in large herds, in contrast to the more solitary and territorial disposition of the saddleback tortoises.
Yellow-footed tortoise
This yellow-footed tortoise eats many kinds of foliage. They are too slow to capture any fast animals. In the wild, their diets consist of grasses, fallen fruit, carrion, plants, bones, mushrooms, excrement, and slow-moving invertebrates such as snails, worms, and others they are able to capture. In captivity, they are fed oranges, apples, melons, endive, collard greens, dandelions, plantain, ribwort, clover, shredded carrots, insects, worms, cuttlebone, tortoise vitamins, edible flowers, and alfalfa pellets. Each yellow-footed tortoise in the wild reaches the age of maturity at about 8–10 years. The fecundity of a female generally depends on her size; the bigger they are, the more eggs they can produce. On average, a female will create about six to 16 eggs per year, although some female individuals may not reproduce each year. The eggs have brittle shells and are elongated to spherical, about 3–6 cm in diameter. The egg size will increase with the body size of the tortoise. The young are self-sufficient from birth. The yellow-footed tortoise can live around 50–60 years.
Galápagos Islands
The first English captain to visit the Galápagos Islands was Richard Hawkins, in 1593. Until the early 19th century, the archipelago was often used as a hideout by mostly English pirates who attacked Spanish galleons carrying gold and silver from South America to Spain.
In 1793, James Colnett described the flora and fauna of Galápagos, and suggested the islands could be used as base for the whalers operating in the Pacific Ocean. He drew the first accurate navigation charts of the islands. Whalers and maritime fur traders killed and captured thousands of the Galápagos tortoises to extract their fat. The tortoises could be kept on board ship as a means of providing of fresh protein, as these animals could survive for several months on board without any food or water. The hunting of the tortoises was responsible for greatly diminishing, and in some cases eliminating, certain species. Along with whalers came the fur-seal hunters, who brought the population of this animal close to extinction.
Aldabra giant tortoise
In captivity, oviposition dates vary. Tulsa Zoo maintains a small herd of Aldabra tortoises and they have reproduced several times since 1999. One female typically lays eggs in November and again in January, providing the weather is warm enough to go outside for laying. The zoo also incubates their eggs artificially, keeping two separate incubators at 27 °C (81 °F) and 30 °C (86 °F). On average, the eggs kept at the latter temperature hatch in 107 days.
London Zoo
Giants of the Galápagos was opened in 2009 to coincide with the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, and is home to three female Galápagos giant tortoises named Dolly, Polly and Priscilla. The exhibit features a large indoor area, with a heated pond and underfloor heating, while the outdoor paddock has been designed to mimic the tortoise's natural environment and features two heated pools, one of which is a naturalistic clay wallow.
Galápagos green turtle
Behaviors of hatchlings differ from that of adults. After a hatchling emerges from the sand, it immediately goes out to sea. Hatchlings use the light of the night sky to find their way into the ocean. However, in many areas with coastal development, the hatchlings become confused from false light and sometimes move in the wrong direction to their deaths; this is not as much of a problem for Galápagos green turtles due to lack of development in the islands. Importantly, the hatchlings emerge at night to be protected from predators. They quickly move out to sea and swim for up to 24 hours to be far removed from shore and the predators in that area. They spend many years in the open ocean before entering the coastal habitat for the maturation period as juveniles. This period of maturation lasts from 10 to 20 years; black sea turtles usually spend time along the coasts of the Baja California peninsula and the connecting bays, lagoons, and channels that provide excellent forage and protection.
Yellow-footed tortoise
Yellow-footed tortoises are a large species – fifth-largest overall and third-largest mainland species, after the Aldabra giant tortoise ("Aldabrachelys gigantea"), Galapagos giant tortoise ("Chelonoidis nigra"), African spurred tortoise, and Asian forest tortoise. Typical sizes average 40 cm (15.75 in), but much larger specimens are common. The largest know specimen is a female that was 94 cm (37 in) long. They closely resemble the red-footed tortoise, and can sometimes be difficult to tell apart, especially as a preserved specimen, which led to quite a bit of confusion over the names and ranges.
Marginated tortoise
Marginated tortoises grow very rapidly. In an ideal biotope, or with good handling, they gain yearly. This quick rate of growth lasts throughout their youth. After the 20th year of life, further growth is minimal. They may live between 100 and 140 years, according to the best estimates of scientists.
Great frigatebird
Great figatebirds take many years to reach sexual maturity and only breed once they have acquired the full adult plumage. This is attained by female birds when they are eight to nine years of age and for male birds when they are 10 to 11 years of age. The average lifespan is unknown but is assumed to be relatively long. As part of a study conducted in 2002 on Tern Island in Hawaii, 35 ringed great frigatebirds were recaptured. Of these 10 were 37 years or older and one was at least 44 years old.