Synonyms of Chelonoidis abingdonii include Testudo abingdonii Günther, 1877 Testudo elephantopus abingdonii Mertens & Wermuth, 1955 Geochelone elephantopus abingdonii Pritchard, 1967 Geochelone nigra abingdonii Iverson, 1992 and Geochelone abingdonii Valverde, 2004. In 1876, Commander William Cookson brought three male specimens (along with other subspecies of Galápagos tortoise) to London aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Peterel. The knowledge of its existence was derived from short statements of the voyages of Captain James Colnett in 1798 and Basil Hall in 1822. The name abingdonii derives from Abingdon Island, now more commonly known as Pinta Island. The Pinta Island tortoise was originally described in 1877 by German-born British herpetologist Albert Günther, who named it Testudo abingdonii in his book The Gigantic Land-tortoises (Living and Extinct) in the Collection of the British Museum. TaxonomyĪlbert Günther, who described Testudo abingdonii in 1877 The subspecies is classified as extinct on the IUCN Red List. As these specimens were juveniles, their parents might still be alive. However, 17 first-generation hybrids were reported in 2012 from Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island during a trip by Yale University researchers.

Lonesome George died on 24 June 2012, and the subspecies was believed to have become extinct with his death. Efforts were made to mate the male, named Lonesome George, with other subspecies, but no viable eggs resulted. By the mid-20th century, the subspecies was assumed to be extinct until a single male was discovered on the island in 1971. By the end of the 19th century, most of the Pinta Island tortoises had been wiped out due to hunting. The subspecies was described by Albert Günther in 1877 after specimens arrived in London. The Pinta Island tortoise ( Chelonoidis niger abingdonii ), also known as the Pinta giant tortoise, Abingdon Island tortoise, or Abingdon Island giant tortoise, is an extinct subspecies of Galápagos tortoise native to Ecuador's Pinta Island.

Last pinta island tortoise