@Michael231 I just received this info on the giant denticulata from Bill Holmstrom:
"Re. the denticulata, we did have one very large animal that was found on Long Island and brought to us by Norm Soule. We moved it to St. Catherines early on in our presence there, but it plowed through a fence the first year and disappeared on the island, never to be seen again. I believe that we did have a few smaller individuals there a bit later on, but removed them, and all the other non-Madagascan tortoises when disease issues became an issue. I believe it was intra-nuclear coccidiosis that prompted the cleanup. I don't recall where we sent them.
With respect to the two very large denticulata at St. Louis, they did not come from the Bronx. My recollection is that St. Louis purchased those animals from Louie Porras and that they originated in Suriname. They were huge - as large as the female Aldabra tortoises they were housed with. The last time I was there, and it has been many years now, I think they only had one left. I'm sure you could get all the details you want from Peter Taylor, but I don't know how to get in touch with him anymore. If Jeff Ettling is still at St. Louis, I'm sure he'd be able to fill you in. Hope that helps."
It seems that Peter Taylor and Jeff Ettling (or the St. Louis Zoo registrar) should be able to fill in more of the information on those St. Louis animals for you
Bill Z
yes i was referring to you. you just seem very Familiar.@iAmCentrochelys sulcata I am assuming the Instagram comment was directed at me?
my friend and I do have Instagram accounts for reptile photos.
What is your username?yes i was referring to you. you just seem very Familiar.
yep i remember you i’ll say i used to chat with you a lot! been a few years! you might not remember me but i remember you lolWhat is your username?
Mine is @officialturtleinsta
My friends is @jack_reptile_naturalist_302
Haha! What’s your IG name?yep i remember you i’ll say i used to chat with you a lot! been a few years! you might not remember me but i remember you lol
i think 2 years ago or 3 not sure but i used to annoy you a lot i didn’t know much about turtles and tortoises. ??
seems you haven’t change your so serious!!!
instagram lol you are 74 you might not know what it is.@iAmCentrochelys sulcata To whom are you directing the above question and what is an IG? Sorry for my ignorance.
yes, when i was about 11 i was seeking help to care for my RES (my first turtle)
it was some corny name i don’t remember but i won’t stop thinking out it i think @snappy_theturtle but it’s long gone account i changed the names many times does that name sound Familiar?Haha! What’s your IG name?
No. I'm older than dirt and don 't even have a cell phone!yes, when i was about 11 i was seeking help to care for my RES (my first turtle)
and i believe it was Michael who was there to help me out. do you have a ig?
so how do you communicate in case of a Accident? you should get one.No. I'm older than dirt and don 't even have a cell phone!
@zovick thank you for all of your input!
I am currently looking into trying to find Peter Taylor’s contact information. So far the most recent thing I can find with his name attached was a talk he gave in New York on entomology in 2018. There are a surprising amount of Peter Taylor’s. Even a lot from St. Louis.
Thank you for contacting Dr. Holmstrom, the locality data is very interesting as well as the origin data. It is much more data on those tortoises we have yet come across! Extremely helpful for our report.
So far my friend and I have been going through all current phylogeography/population genetics studies on denticulatus and carbonarius. There are very few to begin with. One of two studies recorded significant haplotype sharing, which they attributed to likely hybridization between both species. This was at the base of the Xingu River somewhere in Para. Based on these results we’re beginning to think there might be some role non-Mendelian genetics is playing in contributing to the sizes attained by these tortoises. Not much epigenetic work has been done on reptiles that we have found, but it is known from other species (predominantly mammals) that certain hybrids can attain unusually large sizes due to genetic imprinting controlling gene expression. If the very large St. Louis specimen came from Suriname, based on the current TTWG range maps for both species, there are localities in the northeastern/central part of the country where both carbonarius and denticulatus could potentially hybridize in Suriname. Given that the St. Louis animals don’t show any intermediate morphological characteristics, we’re also considering the potential that another yellowfoot variety could potentially exist. With the new description of Chelus orinocensis, there has been new light shed on the topographical/hydrological shifts in the Amazon, which could lead to discovering some isolated pockets of forest where species divergence was possible.
Multiple sources have told me the female at St. Louis is hermaphroditic, however I’m not sure how this was tested. If she’s simply sterile, it could support hybrid origin.
With this new locality data, more possible hybrid origin has been shed on this topic. I’m in the process of emailing some geneticists I know to get their take on it, if you, or anyone else reading over this, have any input or contacts who might be able to shed more light on this possibility that would be tremendously appreciated.
No chance of an accident. I'm a recluse and only put about 100 miles a year on my truck. Ever hear of the little old lady from Pasadena who used car salesmen used to use as a selling point to sell their used cars? Well, I'm the little old lady from Clovis.so how do you communicate in case of a Accident? you should get one.
do you have family close? there’s always a chance of a accident health issues ect. i don’t understand the last part.?No chance of an accident. I'm a recluse and only put about 100 miles a year on my truck. Ever hear of the little old lady from Pasadena who used car salesmen used to use as a selling point to sell their used cars? Well, I'm the little old lady from Clovis.