Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise

The Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise (Cylindraspis inepta) is an extinct species of tortoises in the Testudinidae family. It was endemic to Mauritius. The last records of this tortoise date to the early 18th century.

Description

One of two different giant tortoise species which were endemic to Mauritius, this saddle-backed species seems to have specialised in browsing higher bushes and low-hanging branches of trees. Its lower, flatter sister species grazed grass, as well as fallen leaves and fruit on forest floors. Although similarly sized, the two species differed substantially in their body shape and bone structure.

This species in particular seems to have been the ancestor of all the other four species of Cylindraspis giant tortoise of the Mascarene islands, and to have accidentally drifted to the surrounding islands of Reunion and Rodrigues in order to do so. Its species name of "inepta" is due to its supposed propensity for falling into the ocean.