Additional archival information on the history of the holotype of Testudo nigra (=T. californiana) confirms that there is probably no possibility of establishing its island of origin within the Galapagos. Both names should be suppressed as nomina dubia, despite the fact that T. nigra was relatively recently resurrected as the species name for all Galapagos tortoises. The status of the name Testudo nigrita as a nomen dubium is here further confirmed by the fact that its lectotype no longer exists.