Galápagos Tortoises

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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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