Galapagos tortoise species are often lumped together in conversation when they really shouldn’t be. The truth is that they are extremely diverse in size, shape, and their habitat requirements . However, only about half of the total species are represented in captivity, with none of the true saddleback species represented at all.
They vary a lot in size, shape, and even color (to some extent), with the saddleback species being significantly smaller and more “colorful.” The smallest species don’t reach much more than 160 pounds. They are rivaled or beaten in size by Sudanese sulcatas, the biggest yellow foots, and even the largest Ethiopian leopard tortoises. The largest species from the Galapagos, however, are only rivaled in size by the biggest Aldabra tortoises. The record size (of any tortoise) came from a captive Western Santa Cruz giant tortoise (named “Goliath”) who to grow until his death in 2002 (Which was possibly caused by the stress of being moved to a new enclosure, so he could have grown even larger) when he weighed 920 pounds!
Here are some species with pictures and size breakdown:
Ethiopian leopard tortoise, Stigmochelys pardalis babcocki:
Record size: 158 pounds, about 30” SCL
Adult males typically reach 24-28” SCL and weigh close to or more than 100 pounds
Duncan Island (Galapagos) Giant tortoise, Chelonoidis duncanensis:
Adult males typically reach about 24-30 inches SCL and weigh no more than 170 pounds (possibly then smallest species from the Galapagos)
Above: “Onan and the author (Fred Caporaso)
(Photo by K. Switak)”- https://tortoise.org/archives/pinzon.html
Above: Old male Duncan Island tortoise, “Onan”, eating an Opuntia cactus pad
Source: https://www.mindenpictures.com/search?s=pinzon+island+tortoise
Above: Old male Duncan Island tortoise, “Onan”.
Above: Repatriated Pínzon (Duncan) island tortoises being returned to the wild
Española Island (Galapagos) tortoise, Chelonoidis hoodensis:
Adult males typically 28-35” SCL and weigh up to 180+- pounds
(Females are much smaller than males, like all Galapagos tortoises)
Above: Two adult males in a dispute on Española Island, Galapagos
Above: Adult Male, Charles Darwin research station, Galapagos, Ecuador.
Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ny...americas/galapagos-islands-tortoises.amp.html
Above: Adult females, Charles Darwin research station, Galapagos, Ecuador.
Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ny...americas/galapagos-islands-tortoises.amp.html
Yellow-Footed Tortoise, Chelonoidis denticulata:
Size: 15-37” SCL
Weight: 20-200 pounds
Above: Russ Gurley with a giant at the Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri
Source: http://thereptilereport.com/personalities-russ-gurley/
Above: Austin Stevens helping a Giant yellow foot tortoise cross a river in the Amazon.
Above: The world record yellow foot tortoise (bottom right, 37” SCL, 200 pounds), who lives at the Saint Louis Zoo with a very large male (top right, 32” SCL, 154 pounds).
Western Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise, Chelonoidis porteri:
Size: 40-53” SCL
Average Weight (males): 500–600 pounds
Record weight: 920 pounds
Above: Adult male, “Goliath”
Above: Wild adult male, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos.
Above: Adult male
Side note: The Burmese black mountain tortoise is not the 4th largest tortoise in the world like many people say, yellow foots and leopards can get much larger.
I do have a question:
Can anyone shine some light on what the laws are for Galapagos tortoises and why some species aren’t represented in captivity at all? I know that that they were imported as recently as the late 1990s, but I don’t know if the laws have changed. Is it still legal for certain people (such as zoos) to import them?
They vary a lot in size, shape, and even color (to some extent), with the saddleback species being significantly smaller and more “colorful.” The smallest species don’t reach much more than 160 pounds. They are rivaled or beaten in size by Sudanese sulcatas, the biggest yellow foots, and even the largest Ethiopian leopard tortoises. The largest species from the Galapagos, however, are only rivaled in size by the biggest Aldabra tortoises. The record size (of any tortoise) came from a captive Western Santa Cruz giant tortoise (named “Goliath”) who to grow until his death in 2002 (Which was possibly caused by the stress of being moved to a new enclosure, so he could have grown even larger) when he weighed 920 pounds!
Here are some species with pictures and size breakdown:
Ethiopian leopard tortoise, Stigmochelys pardalis babcocki:
Record size: 158 pounds, about 30” SCL
Adult males typically reach 24-28” SCL and weigh close to or more than 100 pounds
Duncan Island (Galapagos) Giant tortoise, Chelonoidis duncanensis:
Adult males typically reach about 24-30 inches SCL and weigh no more than 170 pounds (possibly then smallest species from the Galapagos)
Above: “Onan and the author (Fred Caporaso)
(Photo by K. Switak)”- https://tortoise.org/archives/pinzon.html
Above: Old male Duncan Island tortoise, “Onan”, eating an Opuntia cactus pad
Source: https://www.mindenpictures.com/search?s=pinzon+island+tortoise
Above: Old male Duncan Island tortoise, “Onan”.
Above: Repatriated Pínzon (Duncan) island tortoises being returned to the wild
Española Island (Galapagos) tortoise, Chelonoidis hoodensis:
Adult males typically 28-35” SCL and weigh up to 180+- pounds
(Females are much smaller than males, like all Galapagos tortoises)
Above: Two adult males in a dispute on Española Island, Galapagos
Above: Adult Male, Charles Darwin research station, Galapagos, Ecuador.
Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ny...americas/galapagos-islands-tortoises.amp.html
Above: Adult females, Charles Darwin research station, Galapagos, Ecuador.
Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ny...americas/galapagos-islands-tortoises.amp.html
Yellow-Footed Tortoise, Chelonoidis denticulata:
Size: 15-37” SCL
Weight: 20-200 pounds
Above: Russ Gurley with a giant at the Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri
Source: http://thereptilereport.com/personalities-russ-gurley/
Above: Austin Stevens helping a Giant yellow foot tortoise cross a river in the Amazon.
Above: The world record yellow foot tortoise (bottom right, 37” SCL, 200 pounds), who lives at the Saint Louis Zoo with a very large male (top right, 32” SCL, 154 pounds).
Western Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise, Chelonoidis porteri:
Size: 40-53” SCL
Average Weight (males): 500–600 pounds
Record weight: 920 pounds
Above: Adult male, “Goliath”
Above: Wild adult male, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos.
Above: Adult male
Side note: The Burmese black mountain tortoise is not the 4th largest tortoise in the world like many people say, yellow foots and leopards can get much larger.
I do have a question:
Can anyone shine some light on what the laws are for Galapagos tortoises and why some species aren’t represented in captivity at all? I know that that they were imported as recently as the late 1990s, but I don’t know if the laws have changed. Is it still legal for certain people (such as zoos) to import them?