Giant Malagasy Tortoise

Giant Malagasy Tortoise : Mystery Turtle of Madagascar.

Variant name:

Ranta (Malagasy/Austronesian).

Physical description:

Large tortoise.

Habitat:

Caves.

Distribution:

Southwest coast of Madagascar.

Possible explanation:

The Giant Malagasy tortoise (Geochelone grandidieri), an extinct turtle with a carapace 4 feet long, may have persisted until the 1940s.

Source:

• Raymond Decary, La faune malgache, son rôle dans les croyances et les usages indigènes (Paris: Payot, 1950), pp. 205–206.

SOURCE:

Mysterious Creatures – A Guide to Cryptozoology written by George M. Eberhart – Copyright © 2002 by George M. Eberhart