Aldabrachelys

Aldabrachelys[1] is the recognised genus for the Seychelles and Madagascan radiations of giant tortoises, including the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea).

Aldabrachelys
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Aldabrachelys
Loveridge & E. Williams, 1957[1]
Synonyms
  • Dipsochelys Bour, 1982

Naming

This name is problematic in that the type specimen is actually represents Chelonoidis denticulata;[2] however, this is being discussed and petitioned before the ICZN.[3]

Species
A. g. arnoldi – Arnold's giant tortoise
†A. g. daudinii – Daudin's giant tortoise (extinct)
A. g. gigantea – Aldabra giant tortoise
A. g. hololissa – Seychelles giant tortoise

Tortoise remains from over 1,000 years ago, which have been found on the Comoros, are believed to have been from an unknown species of the same genus.[4]

gollark: It's a multiple-choice question, silly.
gollark: That sure is* an image of me.
gollark: Neural networks doing unsupervised learning apparently first end up learning the frequencies of letters, then making vaguely wordlike things, then learning about which words go near each other, and eventually more complex things like grammar and narrative.
gollark: It is not you.
gollark: There's another person at school who keeps saying it too.

References
  1. Loveridge A, Williams EE (1957). "Revision of the African tortoises and turtles of the suborder Cryptodira". Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 115: 163-557.
  2. Bour R (2006). "Identity of Testudo gigantea Schweigger, 1812 and rediscovery of the type specimen". Emys 13 (4): 12–23.
  3. Frazer J (2009). "Testudo gigantea Schweigger, 1812 (currently Geochelone (Aldabrachelys) gigantea; Reptilia, Testudines): proposed conservation of usage of the specific name by maintenance of a designated neotype, and suppression of Testudo dussumieri Gray, 1831 (currently Dipsochelys dussumieri)". Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 66 (1):Case:3463
  4. Gerlach J, Canning KL (1996). "Evolution and History of the Giant Tortoises of the Aldabra island group". Testudo 4 (3): 33-40. Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.