Description

The Caicos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis alburyorum) was a large, terrestrial tortoise endemic to the Lucayan Archipelago, including the Caicos and Bahamas islands. Adults were significantly larger than modern Caribbean tortoises, with domed shells and robust limb bones indicating a slow, grazing lifestyle. Like many island megafauna tortoises, it likely evolved without large predators, contributing to its docile behavior and low defensive adaptations.

Plastron and carapace fragments show a shell length ranging from 0.6–1.0 m, making it comparable to mid-sized Galápagos tortoises. Stable isotope data indicate a diet dominated by low-lying vegetation, succulents, and dry scrub plants typical of the islands’ arid habitats. Its slow metabolism and high drought tolerance fit well within its seasonal, karst-limestone environment.

The species persisted well into the Holocene, long after the last glacial retreat. Radiocarbon dates show some populations surviving until ~1200–1400 CE, meaning humans overlapped with and likely exploited these tortoises.