Chelonoidis nigra (Galapagos giant tortoise) (15101211644)

Description:

Description: Chelonoidis nigra (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) - Galapagos giant tortoise (mount, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). The largest living terrestrial chelonian on Earth is the Galapagos giant tortoise - Chelonoidis nigra (often referred to by the subjective junior synonym Geochelone elephantopus). It only occurs on islands of the Galapagos Hotspot in the eastern Pacific Basin. It is a long-lived, very slow-moving herbivore. Terrestrial chelonians tend to have shells of high convexity, presumably for protection from predators. Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Reptilia, Anapsida, Chelonia, Testudinidae The turtles & tortoises (chelonians) are an ancient group of reptiles that have a Triassic to Holocene stratigraphic record. Turtles are most easily recognized by their shell - some forms can retract the head & limbs into the shell when threatened, while other species cannot. Their overall body plan has changed very little since the Triassic - a great example of conservative evolution. Chelonians occur in terrestrial, freshwater, brackish-water, and marine settings. Date: 21 July 2006, 10:16. Source: Chelonoidis nigra (Galapagos giant tortoise). Author: James St. John.