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An Aldabra giant tortoise, an example of a giant tortoise. Giant tortoises are any of several species of various large land tortoises, which include a number of extinct species, [1] as well as two extant species with multiple subspecies formerly common on the islands of the western Indian Ocean and on the Galápagos Islands. [2]
Megalochelys ("great turtle") is an extinct genus of tortoises that lived from the Miocene to Pleistocene.They are noted for their giant size, the largest known for any tortoise, with a maximum carapace length of over 2 m (6.5 ft) in M. atlas.
As of 2022, Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise, is thought to be the oldest living giant tortoise at the age of 193 years. [25] Esmeralda, an Aldabra giant tortoise, is second at the age of 181 years, since the death of Harriet, a Galapagos giant tortoise, at 175. An Aldabra giant tortoise living on Changuu off Zanzibar is reportedly 199 ...
Several lineages of tortoises have independently evolved very large body sizes in excess of 100 kilograms (220 lb), including the Galapagos giant tortoise and the Aldabra giant tortoise. They are usually diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures.
The Seychelles giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa), also known as the Seychelles domed giant tortoise, is a tortoise subspecies in the genus Aldabrachelys.. It inhabited the large central granitic Seychelles islands, but was hunted in vast numbers by European sailors.
The islands were named "Insulae de los Galopegos" (Islands of the Tortoises) in reference to the giant tortoises found there. [8] [9] [nb 1] Initially, the giant tortoises of the Indian Ocean and those from the Galápagos were thought to be the same subspecies. Naturalists thought that sailors had transported the tortoises there. [10]
Underside of carapace. Aldabrachelys grandidieri was a giant tortoise, one of the largest in the world, measuring about 125 cm (49 in) in carapace length.It was originally one of the six endemic tortoise species of Madagascar (two large Aldabrachelys; two medium Astrochelys; two small Pyxis).
The Bolson tortoise was the first species proposed for this restoration effort. The tortoise is unique in that, unlike mammoths, sabre-toothed cats and giant ground sloths, it is not extinct. The Turner Endangered Species Fund, who re-introduced the tortoise to New Mexico, has made it clear that the restoration of the tortoise to the Southwest ...