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These giant tortoises were very large and slow, thus making them easy game. Like many island species, they were also reported to have been friendly and unafraid of humans. Most species of this genus were already driven to extinction by 1795 and the last individuals were reputed to have died around 1840 (Arnold 1979, Bour 1980, Cheke and Hume 2008).
As Mauritius was the first of the Mascarene Islands to be settled, it was also the first to face the extermination of its native biodiversity—including the giant tortoises. The giant tortoise species, like many island species, were reportedly friendly, curious and not afraid of humans.
Domed Mauritius giant tortoise: Cylindraspis triserrata [75] Mauritius Extinct, at least on the main island, since c. 1735. [73] In 1844 a female tortoise was captured alive on Round Island and taken to Mauritius, where it laid eggs that hatched. The fate and species of these tortoises is unknown. [56] Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise
The Mascarene islands form a distinct ecoregion known as the Mascarene forests. [11] Until Europeans first settled the islands in the sixteenth century the Mascarenes are not known to have harbored any human population, and the islands' wildlife was still flourishing during the early days of settlement.
One of two different giant tortoise species which were endemic to Mauritius, this domed species seems to have specialised in grazing of grass, as well as fallen leaves and fruit on forest floors. Its sister species was likely a browser of higher branches, and although similarly sized, the two species differed substantially in their body shape ...
The category is about the fauna of the Mascarene Islands, particularly Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues Wikimedia Commons has media related to Animals of the Mascarene Islands . Subcategories