The islands and atolls of the western Indian Ocean once teemed with giant tortoises that weighed as much as 600 pounds and ...

The giant turtle may have been a victim of global tectonics — the slow movement of continents in geological time. Although it’s not clear why it went extinct, paleontologists speculate that it ...

The unusual animal’s presence in this part of the prehistoric world revealed that giant turtles were more common than previously thought, according to the study. Before the discovery ...

European sailors harvested the tortoises for food and "turtle oil," and ... was able to describe how giant tortoises migrated to various Indian Ocean islands. The extinct Mascarene Cylindraspis ...

Now, scientists have discovered a previously unknown species - the largest European sea turtle ever to be identified. The unusual animal’s presence in this part of the prehistoric world revealed that ...