Newsademic British English edition 260

29th October 2015 
N e w s a d e m ic .co m ™
 - British English edition 
page 
11
species. Yet on each island the tor­
toises were slightly different. For 
example, the tortoises on some 
islands, such as Santa Cruz, have 
dome-shaped, or rounded, shells. 
Those on other islands have longer 
necks and legs. Above their heads 
the edge o f their shells is like an 
upside-down ‘U ’. This means they 
can lift their heads higher and eat 
different types o f vegetation.
Darwin also noticed differences 
in other species on the Galapagos. 
A type o f bird (now called Darwin’s 
finches) had different shaped beaks 
on different islands. Later, the Brit­
ish naturalist became famous for 
his book about evolution. Called 
On the Origin o f Species,
it was 
published in 1859. D arwin’s visit 
to the Galapagos Islands helped 
him to devise, or come up with, his 
evolution theory.
Eastern Santa Cruz tortoise
Hundreds o f years ago there were 
many giant tortoises on the islands. 
Yet the crews o f visiting ships killed 
tens o f thousands for their meat and 
oil. By the 1970s, there were only 
about 3,000 left. Another problem 
has been non-native animals. These, 
such as rats and goats, were taken to 
the islands both on purpose and by 
accident. The rats ate bird and tor­
toise eggs. The goats fed on the same 
vegetation eaten by the tortoises.
The researchers think that there 
are about 250 Eastern Santa Cruz 
tortoises. The creatures are believed 
to be the 15th Galapagos giant
tortoise subspecies. Four subspecies 
are now extinct. The most famous 
was from Pinta Island. The last tor­
toise from this island died in 2012. 
Known as Lonesome George, it was 
over 100 years old. □
P