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Galapagos Tortoises

Did you know that tortoises arrived on the Galápagos’ islands about 3 million years ago?

Holding the record for being the world’s largest tortoise, with some specimens exceeding 5 feet in length and reaching an incredible 550 pounds! They now only

Galapagos tortoise

live naturally on two remote archipelagos: the Galápagos 1000 km due west of mainland Ecuador, and Aldabra in the Indian Ocean, 700 km east of Tanzania. The Galápagos tortoise is the longest-lived vertebrate.

Fun Fact Friday - Galapagos Tortoises

  • Charles Darwin took 3 large tortoises from the Galapagos islands in 1836.

  • Charles Darwin called Galapagos tortoises “inhabitants of some other planet.”

  • The Oldest Galapagos tortoise lived to be 152

Read a great artile here on New Scientist about the extinct species of Galapagos giant tortoise that may be resurrected.

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