DNA from the past informs ex situ conservation for the future: an "extinct" species of Galapagos tortoise identified in captivity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although not unusual to find captive relicts of species lost in the wild, rarely are presumed extinct species rediscovered outside of their native range. A recent study detected living descendents of an extinct Galápagos tortoise species (Chelonoidis elephantopus) once endemic to Floreana Island on the neighboring island of Isabela. This finding adds to the growing cryptic diversity detected among these species in the wild. There also exists a large number of Galápagos tortoises in captivity of ambiguous origin. The recently accumulated population-level haplotypic and genotypic data now available for C. elephantopus add a critical reference population to the existing database of 11 extant species for investigating the origin of captive individuals of unknown ancestry.

SUBMITTER: Russello MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2800188 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature