NEW YORK ZOOI>Or!TrAT, PARK. 155 



living reptiles. There are fourteen distinct species, all be- 

 longing to the genus Tcsludo. These creatures appear to be 

 survivors of the reptilian ages when reptiles attained colossal 

 proportions. Fossil remains of the great tortoises show 

 these creatures to have formerly inhabited the continents, 

 but the survivors are restricted to isolated groups of small 

 islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Six species inhabit 

 the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Four are found 

 in the Aldabra Islands in the Indian Ocean, and four in- 

 habit the Mauritius-Rodriguez group of Islands. All the 

 species are rapidly becoming extinct. Recent expeditions 

 to the Galapagos Islands have reported that very few Giant 

 Tortoises now survive in those islands. 



The Giant Tortoises are entirely herbivorous. The speci- 

 mens exhibited consume great quantities of green food, 

 which varies in kind according to the season's supply. Dur- 

 ing the summer months they feed largely upon melons. 



Among the species exhibited is Tcstudo vicina, repre- 

 sented by our largest specimen, captured in the Galapagos 

 Islands. It weighs slightly over two hundred and twenty- 

 five pounds. Another example from the same islands repre- 

 sents Testiido nigrita, a smaller and flatter species. Testndo 

 elephantina, the Elephant Tortoise, is represented by a largo 

 specimen from the Aldabra Islands, which is growing 

 rapidly. The latter tortoise has a very high shell, and pro- 

 portionately small head. 



The Gopher Tortoises, {Tcstudo Carolina), are large, thick- 

 shelled, clumsy creatures, which liurrow in holes in the 

 sandy southern regions where they live. Once they were 

 common in southern Florida, but their edibility has resulted 

 in a great decrease in their abundance. 



The South American Tortoise, {Testndo tabnlata), is u 

 good representative of the smaller tortoises from various 

 parts of the world. It is common throughout tropical 

 South America and attains a maximum length of shell of 

 about 14 inches. The shell is elongated and blackish, each 

 of the shields having a yellowish center. Like all of the 

 tortoises, this is a herbivorous reptile. 



The Box Tortoise, {Cistudo Carolina), lives on land, and as 

 a means of perfect protection has been enabled by nature 

 completely to withdraw its head and legs within its shell, 

 and by means of a hinge across the middle of the plastron, 

 or lower shell, to close it tightly. 



