Scientists have discovered a new species of giant tortoise in the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador, through genetic testing.

The tortoise is the 15th known species on the archipelago, four of which are extinct. Its discovery was announced in a paper published online by PLOS One.

Yale University biologist Gisella Caccione led the investigation that identified the new species, which lives on Santa Cruz island.

The discovery will help protect and restore the tortoise, which is vulnerable as its numbers are estimated at 250, said Washington Tapia, head of giant tortoise conservation at Galapagos National Park.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.