Tag Archives: Mona Island

Chelonoidis monensis (Williams)

Mona Island Tortoise (Chelonoidis monensis)  

This species is known from subfossil remains that were found on Mona Island, a small island halfway between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.  

The species has probably survived until the first human settlers appeared at around 3000 BP.  

***  

There also appears to exist a painting in a cave on the island that obviously depicts such a tortoise.  

*********************  

References:  

[1] Anders G. J. Rhodin; Scott Thomson; Georgios L. Georgalis; Hans-Volker Karl; Igor G. Danilov; Akio Takahashi; Marcelo S. de la Fuente; Jason R. Bourque; Massimo Delfino; Roger Bour; John B. Iverson; H. Bradley Shaffer; Peter Paul van Dijk: Turtles and Tortoises of the World During the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity: First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians.  and Holocene Turtles of the World Checklist – 2015 000e.1 Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group A. G. J. Rhodin, P. C. H. Pritchard, P. P. van Dijk, R. A. Saumure, K. A. Buhlmann, J. B. Iverson, and R. A. Mittermeier, Eds. Chelonian Research Monographs 5. 2015  

*********************  

edited: 06.09.2019