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Aldabra Tortoise

Aldabrachelys gigantea

Description:

Thank you for letting me know what type of Tortoise this is!

Habitat:

Captive in a zoo

Notes:

Light and dark brown shell with a black bird on top of the shell

2 Species ID Suggestions

KarenSaxton
KarenSaxton 10 years ago
Gopher Tortoise
Gopherus polyphemus Gopher tortoise
aldabra tortoise
aldabrachelys gigantea


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17 Comments

Becca147
Becca147 10 years ago

It was not at a palm beach zoo it was at lion country safari

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

is you want to go to a website to compare the picture to an aldabra tortoise type the link below

http://www.floridanaturepictures.com/rep...

sorry i could not get a click link

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

i think its an aldabran tortoise because the small cluster of plates on the side and then the two unbroken band like plates behind his head and rear. on thing I'm sure about is that its not a gopher tortoise

KarenSaxton
KarenSaxton 10 years ago

UNless it is just the angle of the photo, this specimin doesn't show the doming of the individual plates on the tortoise's shell that is typical of aldabran tortoises

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

i went to the palm beach zoos web site and found the tortoise it is called an aldabra tortoise it is one of the largest specimen of tortoise in the world

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

I'm sure that it is definitely not a gopher tortoise they are much smaller

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

I'm sorry i meant palm beach zoo there two towns fairly near each other is there any way it might be an african tortoise?

KarenSaxton
KarenSaxton 10 years ago

I found a palm beach zoo, but not a Boynton beach zoo. Palm beach has aldabran tortoise, but they are quite a bit different in terms of shell shape

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

i can't tell what the bird is but m pretty sure it was taken at the boynton beach zoo. maybe their website has a list of animals?

KarenSaxton
KarenSaxton 10 years ago

It would help if we knew the size of the bowl for reference. True. The bird(black vulture?) is far enough behind it to be difficult to use due to perspective

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

box turtles are even smaller this is a very large tortoise

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

thats much bigger than a gopher tortoise gopher tortoise usually range from 2"-2' in length they are not very large.

KarenSaxton
KarenSaxton 10 years ago

Actually, box turtles have a completely different shaped shell: higher domed and smoother, and usually more colorful. Also the bottom shell is hinged and the toes are very distinctly clawed.

The gopher tortoise on the other hand has the very abrupt drop at the rear and the very blunt toes

crabman153
crabman153 10 years ago

it looks like a box tortoise

KarenSaxton
KarenSaxton 10 years ago

It appears to be a gopher tortoise - native to your area. Did the zoo not have identification signs to refer to?

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

might not be

jamiewgoodspeed
jamiewgoodspeed 10 years ago

looks a lot like an african tortoise

Becca147
Spotted by
Becca147

West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Spotted on Jan 4, 2013
Submitted on May 16, 2013

Spotted for Missions

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