by Marco Petruzzelli
www.tvreporter.it
The Seychelles giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys hololissa) has been thought to be extinct since the mid-19th century due to overexploitation on the granitic Seychelles islands. Similar giant tortoise species on other Indian Ocean islands such as Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues Island are also extinct. The only species of Indian Ocean giant tortoise to avoid this fate was the Aldabra giant tortoise due to its isolated location and 19th century conservation efforts.
This species inhabited islands of the Seychelles group, where it thrived on vegetation on the edges of marshes and streams. By 1840, it had disappeared from the wild and was assumed to be extinct. As a grazing species, it somewhat resembled the Aldabra tortoise with its domed shape.
In 1999, some Seychelles island tortoises (12 known individuals) were suggested to have survived in captivity. The report of oddly-shaped captive tortoises prompted the Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles to examine the identity of the living tortoises. Examination of museum specimens of the "extinct" Seychelles species by Dr. Justin Gerlach and Laura Canning seemed to show some living tortoises possess characteristics of the extinct species.
However, recently published scientific papers on the genetics of the Seychelles and Indian Ocean tortoises provide conflicting results. Some studies suggest only one species was present historically, but others support the presence of three closely related species.
A 181-year old tortoise on Saint Helena, named Jonathan, is believed to be a survivor of the species (as well as being potentially the oldest living tortoise in the world presently).
La tortuga gigante de Seychelles (Dipsochelys hololissa) es una tortuga de la familia Testudinidae. Es uno de los reptiles más amenazados del mundo, pues esta especie endémica de las Seychelles sólo mantiene una población de unos pocos especímenes en cautividad.
Seychellen-Riesenschildkröten (Aldabrachelys, früher Dispochelys) sind eine Gattung der Schildkröten in der Familie der Landschildkröten (Testudinidae). Neuere Untersuchungen weisen der Gattung nur noch eine rezente Art zu, die auf Inseln des Indischen Ozeans beheimatet ist.

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