Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise

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Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise
Illustration from circa 1770 by Jossigny

Extinct (around 1800)  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: †Cylindraspis
Species:
†C. peltastes
Binomial name
†Cylindraspis peltastes
Dumeril & Bibron, 1835
Synonyms[2]
  • Testudo rotunda Latreille, 1801
  • Chersine rotunda Merrem, 1820
  • Testudo peltastes Duméril & Bibron, 1835
  • Geochelone (Geochelone) rotunda Fitzinger, 1835
  • Geochelone peltastes Pritchard, 1967
  • Cylindraspis peltastes Bour, 1980

The domed Rodrigues giant tortoise (Cylindraspis peltastes) is an

Rodrigues. It appears to have become extinct around 1800, as a result of human exploitation.[3][1]

Description

1707 illustration showing a settlement in Rodrigues, with giant tortoises, rats, crabs, a Rodrigues solitaire and a lizard on a palm trunk. The giant tortoises are most likely the domed Rodrigues giant tortoise.

The domed Rodrigues giant tortoise was one of the smallest of the giant tortoises of the Indian Ocean, reaching a length of just over 40 cm (16 in) and an estimated weight of around 12 kg (26 lb).

A low grazer of grasses, it shared Rodrigues Island with its much larger relative, the

Cylindraspis inepta
), which colonised Rodrigues by sea many millions of years ago, and then differentiated into the two Rodrigues species.

Ecology and extinction

At the time of the arrival of human settlers, dense giant tortoise herds of many thousands were reported on Rodrigues. Like many island species, they were reported to have been friendly, curious, and unafraid of humans. However, in the ensuing years, massive harvesting and exporting for food, as well as the introduction of invasive species, rapidly exterminated the giant tortoises. Hundreds of thousands were loaded into ships' holds for food, or to be transported to Mauritius, where they were burnt for fat and oil.

A surviving giant tortoise was reported on Rodrigues in 1795, at the bottom of a ravine. As late as 1802, there is mention of survivors reportedly being killed in the large fires used to clear the island's vegetation for agriculture.[4][5]

It has subsequently been discovered that the browsing herds of giant tortoises filled an essential role in the island's ecosystem and the regeneration of its forests. In recognition of this fact, measures have been undertaken to introduce replacements, in the form of similar species of tortoises from other parts of the world, to assist in the rebuilding of Rodrigues' devastated environment. The replacement species for the domed Rodrigues tortoise was chosen to be the radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) of Madagascar, which is similar in size and habits.[5]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T6063A12388776.en
    . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. S2CID 87809001
    .
  3. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.11.027 – via ResearchGate
    .
  4. ^ "Cylindraspis peltastes". The Sixth Extinction. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. Retrieved on 15 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b Cheke, A., Hume, J.: Lost Land of the Dodo, An Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion & Rordrigues. T & AD Poyser, London.2008.