Seychelles giant tortoise
Subspecies of tortoise / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Seychelles giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa), also known as the Seychelles domed giant tortoise, is a tortoise subspecies in the genus Aldabrachelys.
Seychelles giant tortoise | |
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A living specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
Family: | Testudinidae |
Genus: | Aldabrachelys |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | A. g. hololissa |
Trinomial name | |
Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa (Günther, 1877) | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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It inhabited the large central granitic Seychelles islands, but was hunted in vast numbers by European sailors. By around 1840 it was presumed to be extinct, along with the Arnold's giant tortoise, a subspecies which shared the same islands.
It was recently[when?] rediscovered. Currently,[when?] a little over a hundred individuals exist.[citation needed] Many had been reestablished in the wild on forested islands such as Silhouette, but were evicted in 2011 by the Seychelles Islands Development Company.[2]