the.com/galapagos tortoise

A tank with legs that outlives empires, dynasties, and probably your great-grandkids.

means A giant tortoise native to the Galápagos Islands, famous for its enormous size, domed or saddle-backed shell, and astonishingly long lifespan of over a century.

from Named for the Galápagos Islands off Ecuador, where it lives — and the islands themselves take their name from the Spanish 'galápago,' an old word for a kind of saddle, because the curved shells of some of these tortoises reminded sixteenth-century Spanish sailors of a saddle's shape. These were the very tortoises whose subtle differences from island to island helped nudge Charles Darwin toward his theory of natural selection during the voyage of the Beagle.

lifespan
Routinely passes 150 years old
weight
Can hit 900 pounds of pure slowpoke
famous one
Lonesome George died as a whole species
fasting
Survives a year without food or water
darwin link
Their shells inspired his evolution theory
for instance

jonathan — seychelles giant tortoise, born ~1832, oldest living terrestrial animal at 191+ years old

lonesome george — last pinta island galapagos tortoise, died 2012, species extinction

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