| Chelonoidis Temporal range: [1]
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| A pair of yellow-footed tortoises | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
| Family: | Testudinidae |
| Genus: | Chelonoidis Fitzinger, 1835[2] |
| Species | |
Chelonoidis is a genus of turtles in the tortoise family erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1835.[2] They are found in South America and the Galápagos Islands, and formerly had a wide distribution in the West Indies.
The multiple subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise (C. niger) are among the largest extant terrestrial chelonians. Giant members of the genus, such as Lutz's giant tortoise (C. lutzae) were also present in mainland South America and the West Indies during the Pleistocene, and the latter into the Holocene.[3]
- ^ "Fossilworks:Chelonoidis".
- ^ a b Turtle Taxonomy Working Group; Rhodin, A.G.J.; Iverson, J.B.; Bour, R.; Fritz, U.; Georges, A.; Shaffer, H.B.; van Dijk, P.P. (2017). "Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status" (PDF). In Rhodin, A.G.J.; Iverson, J.B.; van Dijk, P.P.; Saumure, R.A.; Buhlmann, K.A.; Pritchard, P.C.H.; Mittermeier, R.A. (eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs. 7 (8th ed.). pp. 1–292. doi:10.3854/crm.7.checklist.atlas.v8.2017. ISBN 978-1-5323-5026-9. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ Cione, A. L.; Tonni, E. P.; Soibelzon, L. (2003). "The Broken Zig-Zag: Late Cenozoic large mammal and tortoise extinction in South America". Rev. Mus. Argentino Cienc. Nat. Nueva Serie. 5 (1): 1–19. doi:10.22179/REVMACN.5.26. ISSN 1514-5158.