''Chelonoidis monensis'', also known as the Mona tortoise, is an extinct species of land

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like ot ...

that lived on the island of

Mona Mona may refer to: People *Mona (name), a female given name, nickname and surname *Mona (Angolan footballer) (born 1997) *Mona, ring name of American wrestler Nora Greenwald Museums *Museum of Nebraska Art, Kearney, Nebraska, US *Museum of Neon ...

from the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within ...

to around 1000 BCE. Evidence for the latter date includes cave drawings. All fossil remains have been found either in or near Liro Cave on the east side of Mona. It had a

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the und ...

length of around 50cm.

Reference

monensis Reptiles described in 1952 Extinct turtles Holocene extinctions {{Paleo-turtle-stub