The tortoises that live on islands that receive less rainfall are smaller than those that live on islands with higher rates of precipitation. However, the tortoises are commonly divided into two general groups: domed shell and saddleback shell tortoises, and in the true nature of the Galapagos Islands, their membership to these groups is determined by the environment that they live in. Natural selection and adaption of the Galapagos Giant Tortoiseġ1 subspecies of Galapagos giant tortoise currently live in the archipelago, down from the original 14 or 15 that inhabited the islands. Scientists have no way of knowing the exact cause for their almost global extinction however, there can be no doubt about the fact that it coincides with the arrival and spread of mankind, which is specifically true for those in the Galapagos. To put this into perspective, at one point a quarter-of-a-million giant tortoises inhabited the Galapagos Archipelago, but this number has since shrunk to 3,000.

Giant tortoises once covered much of the world, inhabiting every continent other than Antarctica and Australia unfortunately, however, only two groups of a few thousand giant tortoises roam the world today- one in the Galapagos Islands and one in the African archipelago of Seychelles. However, while it is the longest living vertebrate and one of the largest reptiles in the world, it is also one of the rarest. These monstrous reptiles weigh up to 550 pounds and can live for up to 150 years, easily passing 100. The Galapagos Giant Tortoise is perhaps the most well-known species in the Galapagos Islands, and not without reason.

Pinta tortoise