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Red-footed tortoises have many common names: red-leg, red-legged, or red-foot tortoise (often without the hyphen) and the savanna tortoise, as well as local names, such as carumbe or karumbe, which means 'slow moving' (Brazil, Paraguay), wayapopi or morrocoy (Venezuela, Colombia), and variations of jabuti such as japuta and jabuti-piranga (Brazil, Argentina). [5]
Tortoises can vary in size with some species, such as the Galápagos giant tortoise, growing to more than 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) in length, whereas others like the Speckled cape tortoise have shells that measure only 6.8 centimetres (2.7 in) long. [2]
[85] Naturalist Charles Darwin remarked after his trip three centuries later in 1835, "These animals grow to an immense size ... several so large that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground". [86] The largest recorded individuals have reached weights of over 400 kg (880 lb) [2] [87] and lengths of 1.87 meters (6.1 ft).
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.
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The neck of the Aldabra giant tortoise is very long, even for its great size, which helps the animal to exploit tree branches up to a meter from the ground as a food source. Similar in size to the famous Galápagos giant tortoise, its carapace averages 122 cm (48 in) in length. Males have an average weight of 250 kg (550 lb).
A tortoise at the back door of a house or in the backyard by a pond is said to attract good fortune and many blessings. Three tortoises stacked on top of each other represent a mother and her babies. [37] In Daoist art, the tortoise is an emblem of the triad of earth-humankind-heaven. [38] The tortoise is a symbol of longevity. [2]
Researchers identified one male tortoise from the Wolf Volcano region that had half its genes in common with George's subspecies. This animal is believed to be a first-generation hybrid between the subspecies of the islands Isabela and Pinta. [34] This suggests the possibility of a pure Pinta tortoise among the 2,000 tortoises on Isabela. [35]