Réunion giant tortoise
| Réunion giant tortoise | |
|---|---|
| 1792 sketch of a living specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
| Family: | Testudinidae |
| Genus: | †Cylindraspis |
| Species: | †C. indica |
| Binomial name | |
| †Cylindraspis indica Schneider, 1783 | |
| Synonyms | |
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The Reunion giant tortoise (Cylindraspis indica) is an extinct species of giant tortoise in the family Testudinidae. It was endemic to Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean.
This giant tortoise was numerous in the 17th and early 18th centuries. They were killed in vast numbers by European sailors, and finally became extinct in the 1840s.