A species of tortoise not seen for more than 110 years has been discovered in the Galapagos Islands.
The adult female Chelonoidis phantasticus is thought to have lived for more than a century and was spotted on Sunday on Fernandina.
The only other living member of the species, also known as the Fernandina Giant Tortoise, was found in 1906 and it had been feared extinct.
Expeditions have encountered tortoise droppings and bite marks on cacti, while there was a possible unconfirmed sighting in 2009, but Sunday's discovery was the first confirmed sighting
Together with the possibility of finding more members of the species has raised the possibility of breeding.
"They will need more than one, but females may store sperm for a long time," said Stuart Pimm, a professor of conservation ecology at Duke University.
"There may be hope."
The animal was found in a joint expedition of the Galapagos National Park and the US-based Galapagos Conservancy, Ecuador's Environment Ministry said in a statement.
Investigators think there may be more members of the species on the island due to tracks and droppings they found. The team took the tortoise, likely to be more than 100 years old, to a breeding centre for giant tortoises.
This is based on Santa Cruz Island and the animal will stay in a specially designed pen.
The Fernandina tortoise was thought to have potentially succumbed to frequent volcanic lava flows that nearly cover the island.
Fernandina is the third largest Galapagos island.
The La Cumbre volcano, one of the most active in the world, is located there.
