The terrestrial tortoise clade Chelonoidis is endemic to the South American continent and nearby islands. Three continental species are currently recognized that inhabit three distinct habitats. The red-footed tortoise (C. carbonaria) and yellow-footed tortoise (C. denticulata) are often sympatric tropical to semi-tropical taxa, but the former taxon generally prefers open and wet savannahs, whereas the latter distinctly prefers permanent and wet forest cover. In contrast, the Chaco Tortoise, C. chilensis, is arid-adapted and lives along the eastern dry slopes of the southern Andes (Ernst and Barbour, 1989). The diverse group of generally dry-adapted tortoises from the Galapagos Islands is currently thought to be the gigantic sisters of C. chilensis (Caccone et al., 1999).