Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
October 25, 1806
Primary Source Reference:
Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 18
Additional Source Text:
Aurora. General Advertiser (Philadelphia) 28 Nov 1806 reads: "Elephant Tortoise (living)"
Notes:
This is a confusing entry. The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), the largest sea turtle, does inhabit the waters of the Virgin Islands, but is not known as the elephant turtle. Alternatively, the Museum may have had a Galápagos giant tortoise, one species of which was known as the elephant tortoise (now Chelonoidis elephantopus).
Specimen Type:
Live (presumably eventually taxidermied/preserved)
