338 MOSTLY MAMMALS 
Passing on to the Aldabra tortoises, distinguished by 
their short necks and the presence of a nuchal shield, we 
have first to notice that the only member of the group 
surviving in a wild state in its native habitat is the South 
Aldabra Testudo daudini. Very remarkable is the history 
of a male of this species received by Mr. Rothschild in 
1897, which is the largest known example of modern giant 
tortoises, the length of the carapace in a straight line 
being no less than fifty-five inches, or only nineteen inches 
short of the length assigned to that of the extinct 7. atlas. 
This monster, whose original home was South Aldabra, 
lived for many years on Egmont Island, in the Chagos 
group, whence it was taken by its owner, M. L. Antelme, 
to Mauritius, and thence sent to England. It is currently 
reported to have lived in Egmont for a century and a half, 
but since the Chagos group was only colonised from 
Mauritius in the early part of the last century, there is 
some doubt as to the correctness of the statement. Any- 
way, this tortoise must have been of a prodigious age at 
the time of its death. During its sojourn on Egmont 
Island this tortoise used to bury itself and become dormant 
for half the year—a most remarkable fact in a tropical 
island. South Aldabra is a coral island very difficult to 
traverse, so that it is no easy matter to obtain a sight of 
the tortoises. Seven were, however, captured and exported 
in 1895, of which six reached Europe alive. 
The second species of Aldabra tortoise (7. gigantea) 
formerly inhabited the north and central islands in great 
abundance, but is now known solely by individuals intro- 
duced by the planters into the Seychelles, where they are 
kept in a state of semi-domestication, and by a single 
specimen in St. Helena. There appear to be two races of 
this species—namely, the typical form, in which the shell 
