Credit: Disclosure/Reproduction
Reader Question – Julia Garzuzi, Curitiba, PR
It is the turtle of the species Rafetus swinhoei, with only four known specimens – a couple in a Chinese zoo and two males in lakes in Vietnam. Data are from the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Although this turtle is an endangered species, it is important to clarify that rarity does not necessarily mean risk of extinction.
“There are species with few individuals (very rare) and that face no threats, so they have little risk of disappearing. Other animals, however, are in greater numbers in the wild, but face severe risks to their survival as a species,” explains Catherine Sayer, an associate professional at the IUCN. For a long time, the rarest animal in the world was the Lonesome George turtle (Lonesome George), the only representative of the species Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, which lived in the Galapagos and died in 2012.
Rafetus swinhoei can measure more than 1 m in length and weigh up to 180 kg. Since 2008, biologists at the zoo in Suzhou, China, have tried unsuccessfully to mate this female with the only surviving male in captivity
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SOURCES: Study Priceless or Worthless? from the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) and nationalgeographic.com image Disclosure/reproduction