Cylindraspis
Encyclopedia
Cylindraspis is a genus
of recently extinct giant tortoises. All of its species
lived in the Mascarene Islands
(Mauritius
, Rodrigues
and Réunion
) in the Indian Ocean
and all are now extinct due to hunting and introduction of non-native predators. These giant tortoises were very large and slow, thus making them easy game. The Mascarenes were colonised in 1663. Most species of this genus were already driven to extinction
by 1795 and the last individuals were reputed to have died around 1840 (Arnold 1979, Bour 1980, Cheke and Hume 2008).
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of recently extinct giant tortoises. All of its species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
lived in the Mascarene Islands
Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals, plus the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks...
(Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Rodrigues
Rodrigues
Rodrigues is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning Son of Rodrigo or Son of Rui. The "es" signifies "son of". The name Rodrigo is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning "famous power" or "famous ruler", from the Germanic elements "hrod" and "ric" ,...
and Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
) in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and all are now extinct due to hunting and introduction of non-native predators. These giant tortoises were very large and slow, thus making them easy game. The Mascarenes were colonised in 1663. Most species of this genus were already driven to extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
by 1795 and the last individuals were reputed to have died around 1840 (Arnold 1979, Bour 1980, Cheke and Hume 2008).
Species
The genus contains at least the following species:- †Cylindraspis indica, Réunion giant tortoise, also known by the synonym Cylindraspis borbonica, from Réunion
- †Cylindraspis inepta, Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise, from Mauritius
- †Cylindraspis peltastes, Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise, from Rodrigues
- †Cylindraspis triserrata, Domed Mauritius giant tortoise, from Mauritius
- †Cylindraspis vosmaeri, Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise, from Rodrigues