There
were 14 subspecies in the Galápagos island, 3 of them
are now extinct and "the lonesome Gorge" is
the unique representant of his subspecies. These giant
reptils are known as the largest tortoises in the world,
they may weight up to 550 pounds and mesure over 4 feet
in lenght. Mature male are taller than the female, his
chest is curved to fit with his female shell while they
couple. Their shape differences coming from their adaptation
to their environment, they were used by Charles Darwin
in his evolution theory. For exemple, on the Pinta island,
the food is quite hight so tortoise with a shell shape
allowing a good neck extention are survived, the natural
selection extinguished the other ones. "The lonesome
George" is one of these exemples, his shell is
different compare to the St Cruz tortoise; he has a
saddelback-shaped shell, they have a dome-shaped shell...
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