The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-15
THE oLDEsr LYING hv1MA1.
ne etant Tortoise or Aldnbra-untersst tnG
Facts or Natural History. y

from tho Spectator.
Mr.. Walter Rothschild has procured for this
country, and installed In the Geological Society's
collection, the Oldest living creature in the
world. 1t is ono OF the giant t~ortolscs of Aida
bra, sufficiently remarkable for its size, for IL
weighs a quarter Of a ton, but even moro inter
esting from tho record OF its age. This gives IL a
known lie OF one hundred and fifty years, with
the unknown increment of its age previous to
It's transportation to tho island of Mauritius.
1t 49, we believe. the SAME tortoise which was
mentioned 4 In the treaty between Great Britain
and Franco when the island was coded by tho
former country in 1910, and has therefore
changed its status four times in a century and
a half as a national heirloom.
In the bishops garden at Peterborough ono
died in 1871 which was said to have exceeded
go years, The Lambeth tortoise. which was
introduced into the garden by Archbishop Laud
about the year 1925, and died in 1853, owing to
some neglect of the gardener, lived in its last
situation" 12s years. In 1888 Sir Charles Col
vile, Governor of Mauritius. sent to the
geological Gardens n tortoise weighing 2S5
pounds. 1t was 4 feet 4 inches long, and had
been In Mauritius for sixty.seven years.
The exact period was known, for this tortoise
was brought to that island from tho Seychelles
in 1855 by the Chevalier Marion du Fresno. At
that time 1t was full grown, so that its real Ige
was probably much greater. In the Museum Of
Natural History at South Kensington are the
remains OF an Aldabra tortoise of the species
now presented to the Geological Society by Mr..
Walter Rothschild which, though only known
to be eighty years old, weighed $40 pounds. and
WINS stil growing at the time of its death.
Inc structure of the %tortoises contributes q
large share to their pre-eminenoe IN length of
exhausting process Of collapse and expansion
which we call breathing The cruel wear
work Of lungs; muscles. ribs and air passages.
unnoticed in health, but one of the most dis
on sSa Sd snets revealed by Illness nSs, does !! n, not Et, fall
and breastplate alike, Is as rigid as a piece Of
concrete, He sucks in air by making a vacuum
reservoir instead Of n stomach being his capa-
clous lungs. In addition to this enormous saw
,hE or ue energy, the tortoise enjoys two other 81
break. decay. get out of order, and ultimately
starve him to death, like those of an old horse
sharp horny edges to his mouth, which do not
b bfs9 imo or get &c o n. Of IhS order. And lastly there is
A very curious fact in relation to the giant
dortoises is their isolation on small, remote,
from land and from each. other. ,Aldabra, for
example. is a small uninhabited island in the
Indian Ocean. northwest Of Madagascar. Others
are found in ocean archipelagoes,, like the Sey-
pagos off the Pacific coast of South America.
One rather attractive theory for this isolation
=, 49, 80 ~ y hSi -ploiitntioh oi
these desolatc islands to the old buccaneers. 1t
has been commended that the Galapagos Islands
and that the rovers. who stocked them on
board ship and kept them alive for long periods.
may have left them at places OF call, even in re-
mote oceans, during the long periods in which
buccancering fourishCd..
being built to last" the tortoise's habits and
character have to conform in some sort TO the
limitations set by its form. 1t is not tempted to
waste energy In useless motion. On the other
hand the disposition of the land %tortoises is emf
nentlS placid. This is nv M means an L Sana IA
bic accompaniment OF slow and solidly built rep
tiles. ,Toads. for example, have dreadful tenn
roads and lose their lives untimely. Then there
Is a huge fat frog in Argentina which can only
that he positively barks with fury and almost
bursts in his cndcavors TO come to close quar-
tiers and bite. But the tortoise leads the life OF
n "iiIhS" Wears Ps oa aISS n S%fPf rus ST 6 pnaa"e" Yet t SeS
are less apathctic than might be supposed from
gardens. Q On ~" the s"e galapagos SgsSses fis ISLANDS in fbaFllin
not only the oldest inhabitants, but the
representative creatures of the archipelago.
This view. that in island groups the creative
force may. be traced in it's origin. gains much
ishing number of new species OF birds and flow
equator a. a distance Of eight hundred miles from
an argument in favor OF the view that the giant
tortolscs of the Seychelles and Aldabra are also
Grated on specific and limited areas Of earth.
and developed and surviving under conditions
any other place. But even so. they are a curious
anomaly. In most islands the tendency of ami
NAL life is to fall below rather than to rise above
the normal size. But there are instances to the
contrary even in .Mauritius. Bourbon. and
Rodriguez, near the home Of the .Aldabra, giant
tortoises: Not to mention the roc Of Madaeas-
car, the dodo was the largest of all pigeons, and
survived in considerable numbers after Mas
carenhas discovered the islands. and the largest
living representative of the family, tho
crowned pigeon OF Nicobar. is also an island
species.