The first substantiated case of trans-oceanic tortoise dispersal
Abstract
In December 2004 an Aldabra giant tortoise Dipsochelys dussumieri was washed ashore on the coast of east Africa, probably having been carried off the shore of Aldabra atoll, 740 km away. Although trans-oceanic dispersal is assumed to be the mechanism by which tortoises and many other animals became established on islands throughout the world, this is the first direct evidence of a tortoise surviving such a sea-crossing.
- Publication:
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Journal of Natural History
- Pub Date:
- December 2006
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2006JNatH..40.2403G
- Keywords:
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- Dipsochelys dussumieri;
- tortoise;
- trans-oceanic dispersal;
- Aldabra;
- Tanzania