Learning Center What is a mineral?The most common minerals on earth Information for Educators Mindat Articles The Elements The Rock H. Currier Digital Library Geologic Time

Minerals by Properties Minerals by Chemistry Advanced Locality Search Random Mineral Random Locality Search by minID Localities Near Me Search Articles Search Glossary More Search Options

The Mindat Manual Add a New Photo Rate Photos Locality Edit Report Coordinate Completion Report Add Glossary Item

Mining Companies Statistics Users Mineral Museums Clubs & Organizations Mineral Shows & Events The Mindat Directory Device Settings The Mineral Quiz

Photo Search Photo Galleries Search by Color New Photos Today New Photos Yesterday Members' Photo Galleries Past Photo of the Day Gallery Photography

BETA TEST - Fossil data and pages are very much experimental and under development. Please report any problems

Aldabrachelys

Photos

Photo Gallery

Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	Not linked to a GBIF record.
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	365356	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=365356

Rank

genus (PBDB)

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Testudines : Testudinidae : Aldabrachelys

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
-	Sarcopterygii	Romer 1955
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha
-	Tetrapoda
-	Reptiliomorpha	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Anthracosauria	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Batrachosauria
-	Cotylosauria
-	Amniota	Haeckel 1866
-	Sauropsida	Huxley 1864
class	Reptilia	Laurenti 1768
-	Testudinata
order	Testudines	Batsch 1788
suborder	Cryptodira	Cope 1868
-	Pantestudinoidea	Joyce et al. 2004
superfamily	Testudinoidea	Gray 1825
-	Pantestudinidae	Joyce et al. 2004
family	Testudinidae	Batsch 1788
genus	Aldabrachelys	(Loveridge and Williams 1957)

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Aldabrachelys	subgenus	belongs to Geochelone	stated with evidence	Loveridge and Williams, 1957
Aldabrachelys	genus	subjective synonym of Cylindraspis	stated with evidence	Bour, 1982
Aldabrachelys	subgenus	invalid subgroup of Geochelone	stated with evidence	Crumly, 1982
Aldabrachelys	genus	belongs to Testudinidae	stated with evidence	Gerlach, 2012
Aldabrachelys	genus	belongs to Testudinidae	stated without evidence	van Dijk et al., 2014

Status (PBDB)

extant

Taxon Size (PBDB)

Extant Size (PBDB)

3 (100%)

First Recorded Appearance

0.13 - 0.01 Ma
Pleistocene

Environment

terrestrial (based on Testudinidae)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Osteichthyes)

Diet

herbivore, herbivore (based on Testudinidae)

Reproduction

oviparous (based on Testudinidae)

Taphonomy

phosphatic (based on Vertebrata)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

T. Scheyer, M. Delfino, and N. Klein, N. Bunbury, F. Fleischer-Dogley, D. M. Hansen. 2018. Trophic interactions between larger crocodylians and giant tortoises on Aldabra Atoll, Western Indian Ocean, during the Late Pleistocene. Royal Society Open Science 5(171800):1-15

Fossil Distribution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Common Name(s)	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Aldabrachelys gigantea species	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)	Aldabra Giant Tortoise	2	0.13 Ma Pleistocene	0 Ma Extant
Dipsochelys elephantina species	listed (PBDB)				0 Ma Extant

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1957	Geochelone (Aldabrachelys) Loveridge and Williams
1982	Dipsochelys Bour
2008	Dipsochelys Burney et al. p. 19
2012	Aldabrachelys Gerlach
2013	Aldabrachelys International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
2014	Dipsochelys de la Fuente et al.
2014	Aldabrachelys van Dijk et al.

References

Scheyer T., Delfino M., et al (2018) Trophic interactions between larger crocodylians and giant tortoises on Aldabra Atoll, Western Indian Ocean, during the Late Pleistocene, Royal Society Open Science 5 171800, 1-15 doi:10.1098/rsos.171800

Bour R. (1982) Contribution à la connaissance des tortues terrestres des Seychelles: définition du genre endémique et description d’une espèce nouvelle probablement originaire des îles granitiques et au bord de l’extinction, Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires Séances del’Académie des Sciences, Paris 295 3, 117-118

Burney D. A., Vasey N., et al (2008) New findings at Andrahomana Cave, southeastern Madagascar, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 70 1, 13-24

de la Fuente M. S., Sterli J., et al (2014) Origin, Evolution and Biogeographic History of South American Turtles, Springer Earth System Sciences doi:0.1007/978-3-319-00518-8

van Dijk P. P., Iverson J. B., et al (2014) Turtles of the World, 7th edition: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution with maps, and conservation status, Chelonian Research Monographs 5, 329-479

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

Quick NavTop Fossil Distribution Subtaxa Synonymy List References

Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 26, 2024 10:03:01

Go to top of page