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. The Galápagos tortoises remain the largest living tortoises. Giant tortoises were once found on all of the continents except Australia and Antarctica. Lonesome George, along with other of the tortoises on Pinta Island, belonged to a genus of 21 species. The species 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 species was believed to have become extinct with his death. Efforts were made to mate the male, named Lonesome George, with other species, but no viable eggs resulted. By the mid-20th century, the species 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 species was described by Albert Günther in 1877 after specimens arrived in London. The Pinta Island tortoise ( Chelonoidis abingdonii ), also known as the Pinta giant tortoise, Abingdon Island tortoise, or Abingdon Island giant tortoise, was a species of Galápagos tortoise native to Ecuador's Pinta Island.

Pinta tortoise