| Giant Tortoise | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
|
Giant tortoises are characteristic reptiles of certain tropical islands. The Galápagos tortoise (or Galápagos giant tortoise) is the largest living Tortoise, native to seven Islands of the Galápagos archipelago Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins are ectothermic Reptiles most of whose Body is shielded by a special Cryptodira is the taxonomic Suborder of Testudines that includes most living Tortoises and Turtles Cryptodira differ from Pleurodira Tortoises or land Turtles are land-dwelling Reptiles of the family of Testudinidae', order Testudines. They occur (some species are now extinct) in such places as Madagascar, the Seychelles, Mauritius, Réunion, the Galápagos Islands, Sulawesi, Timor, Flores and Java, often reaching enormous size — they can weigh as much as 300 kg (660 lbs) and can grow to be 1. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République Réunion ( French: Réunion or formally La Réunion; previously Île Bourbon) is an island located in the Indian Ocean, east of Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes, ˈsɛlɛbiz is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Timor is an Island at the south end of the Malay Archipelago, north of the Timor Sea. Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an Island arc with an estimated area of 14300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. 3 m (4 ft) long. However, giant tortoises also once lived on the mainland of Asia and Australia, as follows from fossil finds in the Shivalik Hills in India. The Sivalik Hills also known as the Sivalik mountains (also spelled Shiwalik, Shivalik, or Siwalik) and sometimes called Churia or India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Today, the world's largest population inhabits Aldabra Atoll in Seychelles, where there are approximately 100,000 individuals.
These animals belong to the most ancient group of reptiles, appearing about 250 million years ago. Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers In the Upper Cretaceous, 70 or 80 million years ago some already became gigantic and about 1 million years ago these reptiles reached the Galápagos Islands. Late Cretaceous (100mya - 65mya refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period, named after the famous white Chalk cliffs of southern England Until 100,000 years ago most of the gigantic species began to disappear for unknown causes and only 250 years ago there were at least 20 species and subspecies in islands of the Indian Ocean and 14 or 15 species in the Galapagos Islands. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface From those, only one of the species of the Indian Ocean survives in the wild, the Aldabra Giant Tortoise (two more are claimed to exist in captive or re-released populations, but some genetic studies have cast doubt on the validity of these as separate species) and 11 in Galápagos.
They are one of the world's longest-living animals, with an average lifespan of 100 years or more. Harriet the Turtle, (Charles Darwin's Turtle) as reported by the Australia Zoo was 175 years old.
Contents |
Species and subspecies
- Cylindraspis indica - Réunion Giant Tortoise (extinct)
- Cylindraspis inepta - Saddle-backed Mauritius Giant Tortoise (extinct)
- Cylindraspis peltastes - Domed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise (extinct)
- Cylindraspis triserrata - Domed Mauritius Giant Tortoise (extinct)
- Cylindraspis vosmaeri - Saddle-backed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise (extinct)
- Dipsochelys hololissa - Seychelles giant tortoise (extinct in the wild)
- Dipsochelys arnoldi - Arnold's Giant Tortoise (extinct in the wild)
- Geochelone gigantea/Dipspchelys dussumieri - Aldabra Giant Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra - Galapagos Giant Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra abingdoni - Abingdon Island Tortoise (Extinct in the wild)
- Geochelone nigra becki - Volcan Wolf Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra chathamensis - Chatham Island Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra darwini - James Island Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra ephippium - Duncan Island Tortoise (extinct in the wild)
- Geochelone nigra galapagoensis - Charles Island Tortoise (extinct)
- Geochelone nigra guntheri - Sierra Negra Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra hoodensis - Hood Island Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra microphyes - Volcan Darwin Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra porteri - Indefatigable Island Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra vandenburghi - Volcan Alcedo Tortoise
- Geochelone nigra vaicina - Iguana Cove Tortoise
- Manouria emys - Asian Forest Tortoise
- Meiolania platyceps (extinct)
See also
References
- IUCN 2006. UserPolbot. --> Cylindraspis indica was a species of Turtle in the Testudinidae family UserPolbot. --> Cylindraspis inepta or Saddle-backed Mauritius Giant Tortoise was a species of Tortoise UserPolbot. --> Cylindraspis peltastes or Domed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise was a species of Tortoise in UserPolbot. --> Cylindraspis triserrata or Domed Mauritius Giant Tortoise was a species of Tortoise. UserPolbot. --> Cylindraspis vosmaeri or Saddle-backed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise was a species of Turtle The Seychelles giant tortoise ( Dipsochelys hololissa) has been thought to be extinct since the mid-19th century due to over-exploitation on the granitic Seychelles Arnold's Giant Tortoise ( Dipsochelys arnoldi) also known as the Seychelles saddle-backed tortoise inhabited the granitic Seychelles islands until around The Aldabra Giant Tortoise ( Geochelone gigantea) from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest Tortoises in The Galápagos tortoise (or Galápagos giant tortoise) is the largest living Tortoise, native to seven Islands of the Galápagos archipelago In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. Asian Forest Tortoise ( Manouria emys) is a Species of Tortoise found in India ( Assam) Bangladesh, Burma Meiolania ("Small roamer" is an Extinct Genus of cryptodire Turtle from the Oligocene to Holocene Island gigantism is a biological phenomenon where the size of animals isolated on an island increases dramatically over generations 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www. iucnredlist. org>. Downloaded on 20 May 2006.
External links
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic