The Largest, But Smaller, Aldabra Tortoise Is #2!
( Geochelone gigantea ) The smaller one but you won't skip over from the " Giants " list, it is Aldabra tortoise. This species are living and origin from Aldabra atoll island. The look-alike to the #1 giant, Galápagos, has similar physical appearance from far sight. When you take a closer look, you'll find that they both are different species. There is a common method to identifying the difference is to look for the presence of "nuchal scute" which is generally present above the neck (reptilemagazine). (from hariprajitno ) pictures on the left shown the figure of a Galápagos that don't have any "nuchal scute" and pictures on the right shown the "nuchal scute" of an Aldabra. The other distinctives of Aldabra is the males has concave on their plastron (under shell) that aids in mating. They are dark gray to black in color with highly dome, thick carapace. They have long necks which helps with food gathering. Another difference ...