Hesperotestudo (SciiFii)

The American giant tortoise (Hesperotestudo americanus) is a species of cryptodiran tortoise that originally lived in North America, Central America and Bermuda during the Miocene to Pleistocene and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and introduced to the forests, open woodlands, and swamps of modern North America, Central America and Bermuda to help boost biodiversity. They are noted for their giant size, which is about the same size as the Galápagos tortoise, and they weigh about same. Like the Galápagos tortoise, the American giant tortoise' weight is supported by four elephantine feet, and like most genus of tortoises, it is a herbivore that mainly feeds on leaves, grasses, and shrubs. The conservation status of the American giant tortoise is Vulnerable due to some habitat loss and historic poaching, however, the conservationists have since protected this species by protecting the natural habitats of the Eurasian giant tortoises, and through captive breeding, which is easier than breeding Galápagos tortoises, due to the fact that American giant tortoises live on the mainland, being used to lots of predators and a wide range of reproductive stresses, much like the much-smaller African spurred tortoises.
Category:Animals
Category:SciiFii