Chelonoidis
Sign in to saveChelonoidis is a genus of turtles in the tortoise family erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1835. They are found in South America and the Galápagos Islands, and formerly had a wide distribution in the West Indies.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Testudinidae
- Image
- Geochelone denticulata - couple Suriname.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- P105
- genus
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Article
9 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Distribution
- In the West Indies
- ''Chelonoidis'' species
- Extant and recently extinct species
- Fossil species
- Late Quaternary fossil species
- Other fossil species
- References
Chelonoidis is a genus of turtles in the tortoise family erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1835. They are found in South America and the Galápagos Islands, and formerly had a wide distribution in the West Indies.
The multiple subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise (C. niger) are among the largest extant terrestrial chelonians. Giant members of the genus, such as Lutz's giant tortoise (C. lutzae) were also present in mainland South America and the West Indies during the Pleistocene, and the latter into the Holocene.