A Naturalist in Madagascar; A Record of Observation, Experiences, and Impressions Made During a Period of Over Fifty Years' Intimate Association with the Natives and Study of the Animal & Vegetable Life of the Island (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1915. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... chapter xxiii to the north-west coast rocodiles are not the only reptiles to be seen in the river, for we also saw many large tortoises. They X_were chiefly of the genus Pyxis, the Geometric or Box tortoise, having the carapace divided into large hexagons beautifully marked, and were basking in the sun on small spits of sand rising just above the surface of the water. A carapace which I afterwards procured on the coast was about eighteen inches long. Two other species are also found in Madagascar, named respectively, Testudo geometria and Testudo radiata. In former times the lakes and marshes of the island were inhabited by an immense species of tortoise, whose remains have been found together with those of the gigantic birds (jEpyornis), the hippopotamus and the great extinct lemurs, all of which were no doubt contemporaneous, lasting until the arrival of man on the scene. But although extinct on the mainland of Madagascar, they seem to have survived on the Mascarene group of Mauritius, Reunion and Rodriguez until a very recent date, and they are still living in the little island of Aldabra, which is about two hundred and sixty miles north-west of Cape Ambro. There are two living examples of these huge creatures in the Regent's Park Gardens. The male tortoise, which is much the larger of the two, is five feet five inches in length, and five feet nine inches in breadth, broader, in fact, than it is long. It weighs about eight hundred pounds, and is believed to be able to carry a ton weight on its back. It is now at least a hundred and fifty years old, but is still young and is likely to grow to a much greater size. From the geometric-shaped plates of its carapace, it seems to be allied to the geometric tortoise, still plentiful in Madagascar, as we have just se...