Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis phantastica), recorded as Critically Endangered
Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis phantastica). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise

Chelonoidis phantastica

Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise is a tortoise in the family Testudinidae — Chelonoidis phantastica, recorded as Critically Endangered.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Chelonoidis phantastica
Taxonomy
Testudines · Testudinidae · Chelonoidis

The tortoise

Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise is a tortoise in the family Testudinidae — Chelonoidis phantastica.

Range and habitat

Chelonoidis niger phantasticus (called the Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise or Narborough Island giant tortoise) is a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise that was discovered in 1906 and thought extinct, until a single female was discovered living on Fernandina Island by an expedition in February 2019.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

In crisis

The subspecies name has often been erroneously spelled as phantastica, an error introduced in the 1980s when Chelonoidis was elevated to genus and mistakenly treated as feminine, an error recognized and fixed in 2017.

Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise, Wikidata item Q2739149. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Chelonoidis donfaustoi (Chelonoidis donfaustoi), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Chelonoidis donfaustoi

Chelonoidis donfaustoi
Photograph of Chelonoidis guentheri (Chelonoidis guntheri), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Chelonoidis guentheri

Chelonoidis guntheri
Photograph of Hood Island giant tortoise (Chelonoidis hoodensis), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Hood Island giant tortoise

Chelonoidis hoodensis
Photograph of Santiago Island giant tortoise (Chelonoidis darwini), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Santiago Island giant tortoise

Chelonoidis darwini

Quick answers

What is Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise?
Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise is a tortoise in the family Testudinidae — Chelonoidis phantastica.
What is the conservation status of Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Chelonoidis phantastica. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise live?
Chelonoidis niger phantasticus (called the Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise or Narborough Island giant tortoise) is a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise that was discovered in 1906 and thought extinct, until a single female was discovered living on Fernandina Island by an expedition in February 2019.
Why is Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise in crisis?
The subspecies name has often been erroneously spelled as phantastica, an error introduced in the 1980s when Chelonoidis was elevated to genus and mistakenly treated as feminine, an error recognized and fixed in 2017.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Chelonoidis phantastica?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.