 The tortoise is native to seven of the Galápagos Islands , a volcanic archipelago about 1 @,@ 000 km ( 620 mi ) west of the Ecuadorian mainland . With lifespans in the wild of over 100 years , it is one of the longest @-@ lived vertebrates . A captive individual lived at least 170 years . Spanish explorers , who discovered the islands in the 16th century , named them after the Spanish galápago , meaning saddle . 
