The World Used To Be Full of Giant Tortoises

Рет қаралды 188,084

Жыл бұрын

The world used to be full of giant tortoises, and the ones that live on the Seychelles and Galápagos islands are all we have left. But how did these big reptiles get to the islands in the first place? And why is turtle anatomy so weird?
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Host: Hank Green (he/him)
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Sources:
islandbiodiversity.com/hunting...
www.livescience.com/can-turtl...
www.nature.com/articles/ncomm...
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
www.oaklandzoo.org/animals/al...
nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/al...
animals.sandiegozoo.org/anima...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...
www.nature.com/articles/d4158...
www.biorxiv.org/content/biorx...
www.torreyaguardians.org/hanse...
link.springer.com/chapter/10....
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/p...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/p...
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onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/p...
courses.lumenlearning.com/sun...
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Images:
Thumbnail photo: Dr. Dennis Hansen
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Пікірлер: 270

@BizarreBeasts 11 ай бұрын

Find your wonderful, signed, limited edition art print by Emily Graslie right here: store.dftba.com/collections/bizarrebeasts/products/emily-graslie-print

@a.j.kimball1240 Жыл бұрын

You mentioned Komodo dragons being a case of insular gigantism, and while this is partially true, what's fascinating is that they are actually an example of insular dwarfism as well! Komodo dragons and their relatives were once widespread throughout South East Asia, and even into Australia. The ancestors of modern Komodo dragons likely reached their massive sizes on an island in SEA, but when they reached the tiny island of Komodo, they actually shrunk! So islands helped Komodo dragons reach their huge size, but they also shrunk em down a bit, and I find that to be fascinating.

@Jesse__H Жыл бұрын

That's very interesting! I'd only add that the video didn't precisely say Komodo dragons are an example of insular gigantism, rather that they're an example of Foster's Rule / The Island Rule (2:05), which covers bigger animals getting smaller and smaller animals getting bigger 😊👍

@vincentx2850 Жыл бұрын

This is not completely true. While monitor lizards as a group likely originates in Asia, the lineage which Komodo dragon belongs to (along with things like perentie, lace monitor and ackie monitor) evolved in Australasia in a single radiation event. There is in fact fossils of Komodo dragon itself in Australia. And like the giant tortoises, Komodo dragon's range expanded into the Flores islands, and later going extinct in the island continent where they came from, making those surviving today a relic population.

@henryarmstrong3040 Жыл бұрын

Can I just say this is an amazing conversation of umm actually. And I greatly appreciate it. Herpatology rules!

@sampagano205 Жыл бұрын

@@vincentx2850 also the closest relative we know komodo dragons ever had is Megalania, the largest lizard to ever live (on land). Which means the common ancestor of all of those monitors was probably also a giant.

@a.j.kimball1240 Жыл бұрын

@@vincentx2850 Exactly right, although unless I am getting my information mixed up (which is totally possible) that komodo dragon fossils found elsewhere in australasia are indeed larger than modern individuals in komodo. Again, totally possible Im misremembering something though. Thank you for elaborating on it though!

@NewMessage Жыл бұрын

When I was a kid, the teacher had us all stand up and tell the class what we wanted to be when we grew up, and after a litany of police, firemen, soldiers and sports stars, I stood up and proudly declared I wanted to be a tortoise. Over 40 years later, I still stand by that declaration.

@necroseus Жыл бұрын

Did you succeed?????????

@bobjoefred777 Жыл бұрын

Same, tbh

@hicknopunk Жыл бұрын

Do you play War Tortoise 2 on Android?

@takenname8053 Жыл бұрын

How big are your ribs?

@kellydalstok8900 Жыл бұрын

I know at least two zoos that have a (fake?) giant tortoise shell on display that you can crawl into. That way you can test if a tortoise life suits you.

@theghosthero6173 Жыл бұрын

Something to note. This video says giant tortoise didn't exist in Australia. While it it true that giant tortoise didn't exist in Australia, this might be mostly due to the fact that niche was already occupied by stem tortoise, cousins of tortoise such as the giant meiolania, that existed there. They had horns and club like tails, pretty cool.

@WildWorld81 Жыл бұрын

And they existed on offshore islands until the mid-Holocene (New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island and possibly Vanuatu and Fiji)

@kyrab7914 Жыл бұрын

Neat! I smell a good eons episode

@VlachosVaggelis Жыл бұрын

Meiolanids are not tortoises in the strict sense and in fact sit outside the clade of modern turtles. They were terrestrial turtles but not tortoises. Now, some records previously attributed to meiolanids from Vanuatu islands we now think that they actually belong to tortoises! How did they get there is another story…

@loxodoncyclotis1823 Жыл бұрын

They were basically Ankylosaurs

@jansenart0 Жыл бұрын

Make no mistake: most "herbivores" are only such because they have difficulty acquiring prey, and are actually opportunistic omnivores. You'll know what I mean if you've ever seen that horse with the chicks.

@JubioHDX Жыл бұрын

yup, theres no such thing as a strict herbivore/carnivore in the wild, a turtle or a horse would eat a mouse if it didnt try to run, and even a cat will decide to eat some grass now and then when it feels it needs it (to be clear i mean the more "strict" carnivore wild cats ik domestic ones are a bit more adapted for being genuine omnivores)

@jansenart0 Жыл бұрын

@@JubioHDX My RES is a fierce hunter. We've trained him in the ways of extreme violence and fear of the unknown.

@kolt9051 11 ай бұрын

I had no idea. Both this video and your comment blow my mind

@jansenart0 11 ай бұрын

@@kolt9051 This is what it's all about. ♥

@akechijubeimitsuhide 10 ай бұрын

Didn't some horse eat a wholeass French soldier during Bonaparte's Russian campaign

@PastelBat Жыл бұрын

I am so happy you mentioned Jonathan!!! I have been fascinated by him for years and I even celebrated his birthday last year!

@DAMfoxygrampa Жыл бұрын

That's a cool idea, I may do the same

@BattlingBeasts Жыл бұрын

You guys forgot to mention the third giant tortoise- the sulcata tortoise of Central Africa which can grow up to two hundred pounds and is the only remaining mainland giant tortoise.

@lonestarr1490 Жыл бұрын

Do they count as _giant tortoises,_ or just _really large tortoises?_

@Exquailibur Жыл бұрын

The size gap between the sulcata and the two island giants isnt enough to make them incomparable, plus the fourth largest species is significantly smaller only getting to around 60 lbs. Id personally argue that the sulcata tortoise that weights more than me is giant while the one that weighs half as much as me is large. when it comes to reptiles anything over 100 pounds is pretty giant and not a lot of reptiles get there, not even all the crocodilians. The 500 lb turtles that live on those islands are just monsters at that point, giant isnt enough to describe them.

@kingofthegrill Жыл бұрын

And the fourth, Manouria Emys, the Giant Asian Forest Tortoise AKA Burmese Tortoise, in my opinion one of the coolest tortoise and by all accounts the oldest species of tortoise still alive.

@Exquailibur Жыл бұрын

@@kingofthegrill I like how that species has a comparably more flattened shell than most

@kingofthegrill Жыл бұрын

@@Exquailibur That, their eyes, their throats, they've got a lot of really cool characteristics you don't see on many tortoises.

@meghanandrews6574 Жыл бұрын

This is exactly the turtle content I've been craving! Turtles and tortoises are the best! 🐢

@adadeutsch9593 Жыл бұрын

Very accurate observation!

@andrewstunich8173 Жыл бұрын

I was paddle boarding in Kauwaii several years ago when I observed a shadow in the water of to my right. I was initially scared it was a large shark but then as it swam underneath me I got a good look and it was a very latge turtle of some type. It was so big and beautiful that I was ecstatic to have had the opportunity to see it so closely in its natural environment unmolested.

@dappertophat Жыл бұрын

videos about animal/biology facts make me very happy. the existence of this channel makes me very happy.

@TurtleNerite Жыл бұрын

Technically, there was a giant tortoise in Australia, the Meiolania, though it is not closely related to the modern turtles. Instead its a stem-turtle whose group is a sister-taxon to the modern Chelonia.

@IcyMidnight Жыл бұрын

Foster's rule doesn't explain the giant tortoises, it simply describes it.

@adamsouza7140 Жыл бұрын

Hey, "believe science"

@Balu_420 Жыл бұрын

As a child of maybe 5 or 6 years, my family and I went to a zoo in Stuttgart. As a curious child, I went ahead of my parents in the reptile enclosure. When I see this huge tortoise my younger me just HAD to sit on that beautiful creature. The shell was super warm and felt extremely comftable. A minute or so later some adult person told me I should not do this, they can bite off fingers. Big sad. I felt like I found a new buddy

@Kelly-ib1hf Жыл бұрын

Cannot express how much joy the Bizarre Beasts pin club brings to me. People ask me about the pins all the time and I get to geek out about how cool nature is. And I really enjoy defacing my (gifted) Kate Spade purse with nerdy pins.

@rammylive4081 Жыл бұрын

you should do an episode on the grasshopper nematode (Mermis nigrescens). with their unique method of locomotion when scanning for hosts and its atypical snake-like slithering otherwise, its thousands of eggs carried at a time, and its eye which only occurs in females and use of crystalline haemoglobin to help sense light (something not observed in any other organism), there is plenty to talk about. i reckon it could make a neat little pin, too.

@Cowboy_Cowboy Жыл бұрын

0:55 wait THATS how you pronounce Seychelles? I’ve only ever said it in my head and I’m so glad for that now

@Keenakeen 7 ай бұрын

"There used to be giant tortoises on every continent, except for Australia and Antarctica." Meiolania, the Horned Tortoise: "Am I a joke to you?"

@ThatJaymsWisdom Жыл бұрын

Still the greatest channel on KZfaq. I'm having a terrible day (again) and this video really helped calm me down (again).

@sydneymomma11 Жыл бұрын

Sending you love and hope you feel better soon. 💜

@ThatJaymsWisdom Жыл бұрын

@@sydneymomma11 Thanks ♥️

@BizarreBeasts Жыл бұрын

Hope you are feeling better!!!

@ThatJaymsWisdom Жыл бұрын

@@BizarreBeasts I'm a little better after the weekend, thank you. I think I should probably get a new job, teaching and marking at the uni I'm at is killing my spirit for education.

@jamesjuggler5187 Жыл бұрын

I know this will sound crazy but I live in Minnesota and in 1998 or 1999 I was driving through the area around fort ripely near pillager mn. Suddenly I saw a van stopped ahead of me on the side of the road so I slowed down as I got closer I could see what looked like a bear laying in the middle of the road. When I got closer I could see it was shiny and not furry. It was a giant turtle and it was the height of the wheel well of the van and twice as long. It was huge. I didn’t have a cell phone back then but I took notice of how large it was based on how close to the van it was. They say this turtle does not exist but I saw it. It looked like a box turtle in its shape and I never saw its head as it was turned away. It was awesome.

@Aj-xo5ud Жыл бұрын

Tortoises be chillin

@marcwhittle9810 11 ай бұрын

In much of North America there was a a giant tortoise called Hesperotestudo crassicutata that existed from the Early Miocene until terminal Late Pleistocene or perhaps even into the Early Holocene about 9000BCE. It was more than twice the size of the Galapagos Tortoise.

@kingjsolomon Жыл бұрын

I had the honor of meeting two Galapagos tortoises at a rescue in Los Angeles. They are so sweet. So sad their numbers are so low.

@ThatJaymsWisdom Жыл бұрын

Thanks for putting the calendars on offer! I have now ordered one. When shipping to the UK was £11 on top of the £22 calendar price that seemed a bit much but now I can basically get it with free shipping (£22 all in) and that makes me very, very happy. Happy New year and much love

@wweturtle Жыл бұрын

I love turtles and tortoises. This is by far my favorite pin, and I don't even have it yet.hoping I get the green one, but the rainbow one is cool too.

@raph5122 Жыл бұрын

In australia there's a giant tortoise called the meiolania that went extinct when we arrived there

@lollertoaster Жыл бұрын

I'd argue to the contrary - giant tortoises are still an example of the Foster rule. Specifically, they are an example of island dwarfism.

@Exquailibur Жыл бұрын

There are still some rather large mainland tortoises alive today like the African spurred tortoise, even leopard and gopher tortoises are somewhat large even if not as gigantic as the island species.

@juncohill Жыл бұрын

They move like they're being puppeted.

@cobaltsteele Жыл бұрын

This was a delightful video, thank you

@americaroleplayer Жыл бұрын

First Bizarre Beast of 2023! I'd rate his cuddlebility 12/10, they're very big, they're good for hugging.

@jedinite241 Жыл бұрын

Some good fun info thank you 😊

@pandoraeeris7860 Жыл бұрын

The Tortoise shall rise again.

@armpitcat1298 Жыл бұрын

It’s so nice too get another bizarre beast video

@richtygart6855 Жыл бұрын

Thailand still has mini giant tortoises. They are nothing like the ones in this film but they can get a few feet long and stand a couple feet tall

@bugguyonline Жыл бұрын

IM SO HAPPY !!!!! NEW VIDEO AAAHHHH

@fishkayks Жыл бұрын

The rare tortoise pin looks like he has a quilt for a shell, I need him ❤

@bugguyonline Жыл бұрын

i hope you get him!

@CharlieLynchIsRealCool Жыл бұрын

An easy way to tell the difference between Aldabra and Galapagos tortoises is their head shapes. Aldabra Tortoises have a pointier nose, whereas Galapagos Tortoises have a head that looks more like E.T. You can remember this by remembering than an Al*Dab*ra tortoise noise looks pointy, like how your folded arm is, when you dab on 'em.

@42Fossy Жыл бұрын

Lol thank you so much.

@ooooneeee Жыл бұрын

Dabbing tortoises 😂

@brianpstern Жыл бұрын

Loving all the anatomy visuals in this episode!!

@bugguyonline Жыл бұрын

YESSSSS NEW VIDEO

@davewalter1216 11 ай бұрын

I always learn something here and something both interesting and thought provoking.

@ramennoodledoodle7914 Жыл бұрын

Great video

@jarniwoop 10 ай бұрын

In a museum in Florida I saw a fossil shell of a giant tortoise from the Pleistocene.

@peterbreis5407 Жыл бұрын

The Komodo dragons are actually the smaller cousins of the now extinct Megalania prisca giant goanna in Australia. So rather than island gigantism they may just be a remnant smaller population of megafauna.

@adadeutsch9593 Жыл бұрын

I like tortoises and turtles so much!

@Random_sapiens Жыл бұрын

There is no oogway -Master Accident

@dianewallace6064 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting, I mean, Bizaaaaare.

@Godwinpounds4333 Жыл бұрын

Hello 👋 how’re you doing?

@decameter Жыл бұрын

tortoises are some of my favorite reptiles. I've always wanted to own one, but knew I couldn't have a giant one to love and care for as the winter months just wouldn't allow the magnificent creature to graze outside (with food I'd provide to ensure a balanced diet) during the cold. And I just think it'd be cruel to coop up a giant beauty inside, for either of us really. So I stick with my snake, who I love dearly as well.

@ashvintof1238 Ай бұрын

In Mauritius. They take 100 giant turtles. From the Sechelles

@Tigmas258 Жыл бұрын

I love these guys they look like dinosaurs

@BlackyBrownDestruction9337 Жыл бұрын

More videos of tortoises swimming please

@em-agan Жыл бұрын

YEA JONATHAN YEA!!!! I love him so much 💛

@Lord_of_Snels 29 күн бұрын

2:15, Komodos are not a good example of this effect, just like the tortoises they were already massive before moving to the islands, with bones of Komodo dragons of equal size to the ones we see today being found in Australia and dated to exist 4 million years ago, far before they moved to Flores and Komodo, showing they originated in Australia and no island gigantism existed in their evolution

@windlessoriginals1150 6 ай бұрын

Thank you 🐢

@RedK11 Жыл бұрын

Aren't most herbivores opportunistic omnivores? Best video example being the horse eating the chick

@kyrab7914 12 күн бұрын

...What about the salt in the seas tho? Like crocodiles developed special glands. I believe marine iguanas also did iirc.

@ylhajee Жыл бұрын

When did tortoises go extinct in most places? Are they among the megafauna that went extinct as soon as humans arrived in the area and hunted them?

@vincentx2850 Жыл бұрын

Human expansion in the broad sense, which includes other Homo species like H. erectus, is a possible cause. Climate fluctuation is another possible cause.

@garydaniel8096 11 ай бұрын

God Bless Hank. Get well soon!

@a_tiny_ella Жыл бұрын

I am very very happy after watching this

@JurassicLion2049 Жыл бұрын

Wildlife is a trip

@EyesOfByes Жыл бұрын

4:17 My new indie pop rock band

@JerrBear81 Жыл бұрын

Cloaca is one of those words that sounds like it should be used more often, but can't be due to its definition. How many conversations can the word cloaca be used in?

@nicole127x Жыл бұрын

TIL "cloacal respiration," which means some turtles can breathe through their butts.

@Evenape Жыл бұрын

The chicken's "butt" is a cloaca~

@turquoisewitch.wild-owl Жыл бұрын

I was thinking of getting the calendar, but when I clicked on it, it was still $24. Let me know if I'm supposed to do anything else to get the half-off price. Thanks.

@Godwinpounds4333 Жыл бұрын

Hi how are you doing?

@stax6092 Жыл бұрын

Awesome.

@feldar Жыл бұрын

If a turtle's shell is part of their skeleton, does that mean that it's actually an exoskeleton?

@Dr.IanPlect Жыл бұрын

No, the majority of the skeletal structure is still internal, they still have endoskeletons.

@skuzzlebutt8825 Жыл бұрын

best location ever!!!! we had to go for mile to find it...

@isaacsutton1162 Жыл бұрын

PLEASE GOD ALL I WANT IS THIS PINK TORT PIN PLEASE

@LaraPosting Жыл бұрын

Mild correction here, there were giant Australian tortoises belonging to the genus Meiolania, with the species M. platyceps reaching up to 3m in length and 1 in height

@royhay5741 Жыл бұрын

Australasia once had giant tortoises called horned turtles

@Jaze2022 Жыл бұрын

Must be a different time when giant lumbering beasts can thrive. Maybe a bunch of smart monkeys noticed they were easy pickings

@PureVikingPowers 7 ай бұрын

Does fosters rule work on spiders? I don't want us to discover a 1 meter huge spider

@offdickson3062 11 ай бұрын

Do you still have the pins?

@bugguyonline Жыл бұрын

i love the little pin on your shirt :3

@michellegutierrez2119 2 ай бұрын

Beautiful turtles they look like dinosaurs 🦖… with a shell 🐚 on them and a tail on them to show them off 😝 🐢…..

@MarshaNPILoveCanada Жыл бұрын

*Go Indonesia!!* From Bandung, Indonesia

@KhalidKhan-zp5rj Жыл бұрын

I shall wait much for new videos about tortoises ok send soon thankyou

@DoktorSpakur Жыл бұрын

KZfaq commercials just keep getting longer and longer and louder and louder

@Apathetic_agnostic Жыл бұрын

There were many more species of giant turtles/tortoises, prior to Homo sapiens arrival: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_tortoise

@parkerpshebnisky1051 Жыл бұрын

The giant tortoise is like a living Dinosaur!

@stanleytandiono4857 Жыл бұрын

Connor aka cdawgva would love to see this vid

@michaelgarrow3239 Жыл бұрын

Trilobites!!! The world was covered in Trilobites for hundreds of millions of years. 👽

@AccidentalNinja Жыл бұрын

Shoulder blades inside the rib cage is wild.

@nickh.isalldamgenocntrol4444 Жыл бұрын

Don’t forget about the tiny Deer in the keys

@BrandonLee-ig1qg Жыл бұрын

Breeding programs to conserve the species would be beneficial

@andrew27 Жыл бұрын

Hey how about a video about armadillos? Their armour is incredbile, I'd really like to understand more.

@BizarreBeasts Жыл бұрын

Hank actually did do an armadillo video when this show was just part of vlogbrothers! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/n8Bzi5ul2ZmwmIU.html

@andrew27 Жыл бұрын

@@BizarreBeasts ah thank you very much I must've have missed that one!

@cindroman Жыл бұрын

Please do a Muntjac 🥰

@nomoru6451 Жыл бұрын

One of the locations for their development could've very well had been America because this whole land was once called turtle island

@silenttakuza Жыл бұрын

Baby birds can't catch a break.

@68corvette08 Жыл бұрын

She sells Seychelles by the seashore. Lol.

@Antechynus Жыл бұрын

Being slow moving and delicious was not a good evolutionary trait.

@Luk844 Жыл бұрын

With one of the most powerfull jaws and bites per square inch,that would be very interesting.

@AmstradExin Жыл бұрын

It's Tortoises all the way down

@PureVikingPowers 7 ай бұрын

This remind me of the episode on The Boys when they killed translucent and stuck TNT in his but like a turtle cause he was invincible

@terolix Жыл бұрын

Dang it I missed the pin 😭

@johneckerd1750 Жыл бұрын

They make an nice soup

@finalmage6 Жыл бұрын

I must once again campaign for a video on Flying Squirrels! Seriously bizarre little beasts.

@maya-gur695 Жыл бұрын

Turtle and tortoises are some of my favorite animals!

@KhalidKhan-zp5rj Жыл бұрын

Send with in two days thankyou

@jkrigelman Жыл бұрын

Well, the biggest tortoises are still around. They stand on each others backs and the world balances on top of them.

@BizarreBeasts Жыл бұрын

Would you like your own giant tortoise pin?! Join the pin club today at store.dftba.com/collections/bizarrebeasts/products/bizarre-beasts-pin-subscription-1

@wightbear6501 Жыл бұрын

Hi! I'm in the pin club and would LOVE for you to cover Vulture Bees, they feed off meat and I've heard their meat-honey is edible!? Please explain 😂

@edwardfletcher7790 Жыл бұрын

Australia had Giant tortoises, just not in human history.