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.
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 😊👍
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.
@@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.
@@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!
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
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.
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
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.
Find your wonderful, signed, limited edition art print by Emily Graslie right here: store.dftba.com/collections/bizarrebeasts/products/emily-graslie-print
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
Human expansion in the broad sense, which includes other Homo species like H. erectus, is a possible cause. Climate fluctuation is another possible cause.
Seeing as the largest tortoise known (megalochelys atlas) lived in mainland Asia during the pleistocene. It's clear that tortoises (and other ectotherms) are not predestined to always live in the shadows of us endotherms. Who knows, maybe given enough time they could've grown larger than the largest mammals and non-sauropod dinosaurs out there.
Do you need a tortoise (and raven) bandana?? Get yours here! complexly.store/products/raven-and-desert-tortoise-bandana
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.
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 😊👍
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.
Can I just say this is an amazing conversation of umm actually. And I greatly appreciate it. Herpatology rules!
@@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.
@@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!
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.
Did you succeed?????????
Same, tbh
Do you play War Tortoise 2 on Android?
How big are your ribs?
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.
I am so happy you mentioned Jonathan!!! I have been fascinated by him for years and I even celebrated his birthday last year!
That's a cool idea, I may do the same
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.
And they existed on offshore islands until the mid-Holocene (New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island and possibly Vanuatu and Fiji)
Neat! I smell a good eons episode
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…
They were basically Ankylosaurs
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.
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)
@@JubioHDX My RES is a fierce hunter. We've trained him in the ways of extreme violence and fear of the unknown.
I had no idea. Both this video and your comment blow my mind
@@kolt9051 This is what it's all about. ♥
Didn't some horse eat a wholeass French soldier during Bonaparte's Russian campaign
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.
videos about animal/biology facts make me very happy. the existence of this channel makes me very happy.
This is exactly the turtle content I've been craving! Turtles and tortoises are the best! 🐢
Very accurate observation!
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.
Do they count as _giant tortoises,_ or just _really large tortoises?_
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.
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.
@@kingofthegrill I like how that species has a comparably more flattened shell than most
@@Exquailibur That, their eyes, their throats, they've got a lot of really cool characteristics you don't see on many tortoises.
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.
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.
Still the greatest channel on UA-cam. I'm having a terrible day (again) and this video really helped calm me down (again).
Sending you love and hope you feel better soon. 💜
@@sydneymomma11 Thanks ♥️
Hope you are feeling better!!!
@@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.
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.
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
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
"There used to be giant tortoises on every continent, except for Australia and Antarctica."
Meiolania, the Horned Tortoise: "Am I a joke to you?"
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.
Find your wonderful, signed, limited edition art print by Emily Graslie right here: store.dftba.com/collections/bizarrebeasts/products/emily-graslie-print
Foster's rule doesn't explain the giant tortoises, it simply describes it.
Hey, "believe science"
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.
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
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 😂
Australia had Giant tortoises, just not in human history.
Tortoises be chillin
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.
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
1:20 killed me "I'm gonna get you!" *bird moves 3 inches* "DRAT! I'm still coming for you!" *repeat*
IM SO HAPPY !!!!! NEW VIDEO AAAHHHH
I'd argue to the contrary - giant tortoises are still an example of the Foster rule. Specifically, they are an example of island dwarfism.
I always learn something here and something both interesting and thought provoking.
In australia there's a giant tortoise called the meiolania that went extinct when we arrived there
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
I just found out they float so thats why they can get to distant islands
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.
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.
Some good fun info thank you 😊
Very interesting, I mean, Bizaaaaare.
Hello 👋 how’re you doing?
In a museum in Florida I saw a fossil shell of a giant tortoise from the Pleistocene.
Thank you 🐢
Imagine, you’re stuck in a frozen pond & you have to take in cold water through your cloaca so you don’t die. Brrr
The Tortoise shall rise again.
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?
TIL "cloacal respiration," which means some turtles can breathe through their butts.
The chicken's "butt" is a cloaca~
Oh I was hoping this episode would be about that car sized tortoise that lived along side titanaboa
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.
I love these guys they look like dinosaurs
I feel that that one bird was annoying the heck out of that tortoise and the tortoise couldn't take it anymore and decided to eat it for revenge...lol
Does fosters rule work on spiders? I don't want us to discover a 1 meter huge spider
YESSSSS NEW VIDEO
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.
Lol thank you so much.
Dabbing tortoises 😂
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.
Hi how are you doing?
Beautiful turtles they look like dinosaurs 🦖… with a shell 🐚 on them and a tail on them to show them off 😝 🐢…..
First Bizarre Beast of 2023! I'd rate his cuddlebility 12/10, they're very big, they're good for hugging.
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
This was a delightful video, thank you
Great video
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
I like tortoises and turtles so much!
Arizona has it's owm Giant tortoise in the wild they live underground they dig vertically backwards
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.
Loving all the anatomy visuals in this episode!!
They move like they're being puppeted.
There is no oogway
-Master Accident
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?
Human expansion in the broad sense, which includes other Homo species like H. erectus, is a possible cause. Climate fluctuation is another possible cause.
If a turtle's shell is part of their skeleton, does that mean that it's actually an exoskeleton?
No, the majority of the skeletal structure is still internal, they still have endoskeletons.
The rare tortoise pin looks like he has a quilt for a shell, I need him ❤
i hope you get him!
YEA JONATHAN YEA!!!! I love him so much 💛
Hey how about a video about armadillos? Their armour is incredbile, I'd really like to understand more.
Hank actually did do an armadillo video when this show was just part of vlogbrothers! ua-cam.com/video/iZCX8tt3LhQ/v-deo.html
@@BizarreBeasts ah thank you very much I must've have missed that one!
4:17 My new indie pop rock band
More videos of tortoises swimming please
Interesting 🐢❤️
...What about the salt in the seas tho? Like crocodiles developed special glands. I believe marine iguanas also did iirc.
PLEASE GOD ALL I WANT IS THIS PINK TORT PIN PLEASE
One of the locations for their development could've very well had been America because this whole land was once called turtle island
Aren't most herbivores opportunistic omnivores? Best video example being the horse eating the chick
Must be a different time when giant lumbering beasts can thrive. Maybe a bunch of smart monkeys noticed they were easy pickings
imagine all the giant mine turtles back than
I am very very happy after watching this
God Bless Hank. Get well soon!
Trilobites!!! The world was covered in Trilobites for hundreds of millions of years.
👽
In Mauritius. They take 100 giant turtles. From the Sechelles
There were many more species of giant turtles/tortoises, prior to Homo sapiens arrival: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_tortoise
Wildlife is a trip
Seeing as the largest tortoise known (megalochelys atlas) lived in mainland Asia during the pleistocene. It's clear that tortoises (and other ectotherms) are not predestined to always live in the shadows of us endotherms.
Who knows, maybe given enough time they could've grown larger than the largest mammals and non-sauropod dinosaurs out there.
(M)egalochelys atlas.
I shall wait much for new videos about tortoises ok send soon thankyou
The giant tortoise is like a living Dinosaur!
Australasia once had giant tortoises called horned turtles
Awesome.
UA-cam commercials just keep getting longer and longer and louder and louder
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
Breeding programs to conserve the species would be beneficial
When did Rodriguez island giant tortoises become extinct?
Please do a Muntjac 🥰
*Go Indonesia!!*
From Bandung, Indonesia
With one of the most powerfull jaws and bites per square inch,that would be very interesting.
She sells Seychelles by the seashore. Lol.
Well, the biggest tortoises are still around. They stand on each others backs and the world balances on top of them.
Dang it I missed the pin 😭
Are Sulcata and Burmese tortoises not considered "giant"?
Being slow moving and delicious was not a good evolutionary trait.
Don’t forget about the tiny Deer in the keys
Baby birds can't catch a break.