 Previously , the Galápagos tortoise was considered to belong to the genus Geochelone , known as ' typical tortoises ' or ' terrestrial turtles ' . In the 1990s , subgenus Chelonoidis was elevated to generic status based on phylogenetic evidence which grouped the South American members of Geochelone into an independent clade ( branch of the tree of life ) . This nomenclature has been adopted by several authorities . 
