Arnold's Giant Tortoise

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iArnold's Giant Tortoise
Conservation status
Extinct in the wild
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Order: Testudines Suborder: Cryptodira Family: Testudinidae Genus: Dipsochelys Species: D. arnoldi
Binomial name
Dipsochelys arnoldi

Arnold's Giant Tortoise (Dipsochelys arnoldi) also known as the Seychelles saddle-backed tortoise inhabited the granitic Seychelles islands until around 1840. At that time it was presumed to be extinct along with the Seychelles giant tortoise; a species which shared the same islands.

The report of oddly-shaped of tortoises in captivity in the mid-1990s prompted The Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles to investigate the identity of these captive tortoises. Examination of museum specimens of the 'extinct' Seychelles and Arnold species seemed to confirm that some living tortoises do show characteristics of the supposedly extinct species. However, recently published scientific papers on the genetics of the Seychelles and Indian Ocean tortoises provide conflicting results. Some studies suggest that only one species was ever present in the islands whilst others suggest three distinct, but closely related species.

[edit] Source

[JEREMY J. AUSTIN, E. NICHOLAS ARNOLD and ROGER BOUR, 2003. Was there a second adaptive radiation of giant tortoises in the Indian Ocean? Using mitochondrial DNA to investigate speciation and biogeography of Aldabrachelys (Reptilia,Testudinidae). Molecular Ecology (2003) 12, 1415–1424. © 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd]

[ERIC P. PALKOVACS, MONIQUE MARSCHNER, CLAUDIO CIOFI, JUSTIN GERLACH and ADALGISA CACCONE. 2003. Are the native giant tortoises from the Seychelles really extinct? A genetic perspective based on mtDNA and microsatellite data. Molecular Ecology (2003)12, 1403–1413. © 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd]