Galápagos giant tortoise

The Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis niger) is the largest living tortoise, a testudinid endemic to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador and historically present on nine of them. Large-subspecies males weigh 272–317 kg, females 136–181 kg, and the heaviest recorded individual reached 417 kg with a 1.87 m carapace; dome and saddleback shells correspond to humid highland and arid lowland habitats. The animals graze and browse, undertaking seasonal altitudinal migrations. The IUCN assesses the taxon by subspecies, from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered, with Floreana and Pinta forms extinct; all are on CITES Appendix I.