THE ALDABRA GOLIATH TURTLE IS A MONSTER TYPES OF TURTLE LOCAL TO THE ALDA IN THE INDIAN SEA

THE ALDABRA GOLIATH TURTLE IS A MONSTER TYPES OF TURTLE LOCAL TO THE ALDA IN THE INDIAN SEA.Show more

Physical Description
Aldabra tortoises' carapace has a small neck plate usually visible, a feature absent in other species of giant tortoises. The males have a concave plastron that aids in mating. They are dark gray to black in color with a highly domed, thick carapace. They have long necks, which helps with food gathering. The hind legs are cylindrical and columnar like those of an elephant; thick, often bony scales cover them. The toes are short and two-jointed. The head is relatively small, pointed and covered by scales.

Size
Aldabras are one of the world's largest land tortoises. Males are considerably larger than females and have longer, thicker tails. The male's carapace length can measure 4 feet (1.22 meters) and they can weigh up to 550 pounds (250 kilograms). The female's carapace can measure 3 feet (91 centimeters) and can weigh 350 pounds (159 kilograms). An Aldabra tortoise weighing 672 pounds (305 kilograms) is the world's largest free-roaming tortoise ever recorded.

Native Habitat
They are found on Aldabra Island, one of the Seychelles northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. They were apparently introduced to Mauritius and Reunion Islands. The tortoises live in habitats such as scrub, mangrove swamp and coastal dunes. The largest concentration of tortoises is found in the grasslands called platins.

Food/Eating Habits
This tortoise is the largest animal on the Aldabra Island atoll. It fills a similar role to the one occupied by elephants in Africa and Asia. Small trees and shrubs to obtain nutritious leaves. Seeds pass through the tortoise's digestive tract and eventually become food for many other species.

Aldabra tortoises are able to go without food or water for long periods. They are grazers and browsers, feeding mainly on grasses and woody plants. However, they will eat meat when it is available and possibly even eat the carcasses of dead tortoises. They may also eat feces.

Lifespan
They can reach ages of more than 100 years. It is believed that tortoises are the longest lived of all animals although is hard to prove because they have outlived the scientists who were studying them, and proper records were not kept. The Aldabra tortoises on exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Zoo are about 80 years old. This is a guess because they arrived at the Zoo as adults. One pair arrived in 1956 and the second in 1976.

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