Saturday 15 June
Forsten's tortoise (Indotestudo forstenii)
ENDANGEREDForsten's tortoise fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
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- Glossary
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Forsten's tortoise description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Reptilia |
| Order | Testudines |
| Family | Testudinidae |
| Genus | Indotestudo (1) |
Forsten's tortoise is a medium-sized, yellowish tortoise (2). The smooth carapace varies from caramel with black blotches to all-black (2). Males have longer tails than females; they also have a narrower shape and have a more concave plastron (2). During the breeding season, the usually yellow head develops a pinkish tinge around the large eyes (2). This species was previously confused with the Travancore tortoise (I. travancorica), but the two tortoises are now recognised as separate species (2).
- Also known as
- Celebes tortoise.
- French
- Tortue De Tranvancore, Tortue Des Celèbes.
- Spanish
- Tortuga Marrón De La India.
- Carapace
- The top shell of a turtle. In arthropods (insects, crabs etc), the fused head and thorax (the part of the body located near the head) also known as ‘cephalothorax’.
- Plastron
- In reptiles, the ventral shell of a turtle or tortoise.
- IUCN Red List (April, 2003)
http://www.iucnredlist.org - World Chelonian Trust (April, 2003)
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Iforsteniicare.htm - CITES (April, 2003)
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Forsten's tortoise biology
Forsten's tortoises are most active at dawn and dusk, foraging for a mixture of fruits, leaves, worms and slugs (2). Pairs engage in a relatively aggressive courtship, when the male will often ram his mate and bite her head and legs (2). The female lays a clutch of one to four eggs in a flask-shaped nest in the soil, covering up the eggs by scraping soil back over the hole with her back legs and then flattening it (2).
TopForsten's tortoise range
Found only on the islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera in Indonesia (2).
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Species with a similar range
Forsten's tortoise habitat
Forsten’s tortoise inhabits damp rainforest (2).
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Species found in a similar habitat
Forsten's tortoise status
Classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List 2007 (1), and listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).
Forsten's tortoise threats
The destruction of habitat on the islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera is greatly threatening the survival of this tortoise, which has a highly restricted range (2). In addition, tortoises are hunted both for their meat and to supply the pet trade (1).
TopForsten's tortoise conservation
International trade in Forsten's tortoise is restricted by its listing on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (3). More effective protection of both its habitat and its population is required however, if the future of this Asian tortoise is to be secured.
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
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This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: arkive@wildscreen.org.ukTopGlossary
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Image credit
Forsten's tortoise
© Shantanu Kundu & Kulendra Ch Das / Assam Univ. & Mizoram Univ. / India
Shantanu Kundu
shantanu1984@gmail.com
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