Description The biggest living species of tortoise is the Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis niger). The shell of the Galápagos tortoise is extremely high-brown and pale green. It fuses seamlessly with its surroundings. When it gets too hot or senses danger, it may quickly retract its head, legs, and tail within its shell. It has an extremely […]
Galapagos Tortoise Read More »
Description Aldabrachelys gigantea, a species of native to the Seychelles, is the name of this tortoise. The Aldabra giant tortoise has a high, domlike carapace that is brown or tan in colour. It supports its large body on stocky, highly scaled legs. Even for its enormous size, the tortoise’s neck is incredibly long, which allows
Description The thick yellow-brown to golden skin and brownish shell of the African spurred tortoise in the desert provide effective camouflage. Its broad, oval carapace features distinct grooves at the front and back margins as well as distinct growth rings on each scute, which get more distinct with maturity. The front of the forelimbs are
Description The Leopard tortoise is a giant, gorgeous turtle and the fourth largest member of the family of tortoises. Their shell pattern is striking and serves as the ideal cover in its native habitat. Their distinctive colour pattern on the raised carapace, or shell, gives them their name. The bands of tan, brown, and yellow
Description One of the most beautiful tortoises is the Radiated tortoise, which is native to Madagascar. This tortoise’s distinguishing pattern is made up of vivid yellow markings radiating out from the centre of each plate on its high-domed, dark carapace. As a person ages, the black pigment in their shell starts to disappear, leaving them
Description The Red-footed tortoise (C. carbonarius) and the Yellow-foot tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus) are both members of the family Testudinidae. The black Yellow Footed Tortoise has a horizontal bar behind each eye, many yellow head scales, and other distinctive features. The coloration varies quite a bit; the legs and head frequently feature orange, yellow, or red
Yellow Foot Tortoise Read More »
Description A highly endangered species of tortoise, the angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora), is gravely threatened by poaching for the illegal pet trade. It only exists in Madagascar. It is also known as the angonoka, ploughshare, Madagascar, or angulated tortoise of Madagascar. The carapace has noticeable growth rings on each scute and is light brown in
Description A large reptile from Southeast Asia is called the impressed tortoise (Manouria impressa). The skin and shell of impressed tortoises are a golden brown colour. Adults have a maximum carapace length of 35 cm (14 in), making them significantly smaller than their relatives the Asian forest tortoises. Habitat Southeast Asia is home to impressed
Impressed Tortoise Read More »
Description An inhabitant of the dry, deciduous forests of Myanmar (Burma), the Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone platynota) is a species of tortoise that is extremely vulnerable to extinction. On its strongly domed carapace, the Burmese star tortoise displays markings that radiate in the shape of stars. On its shell, it contains stars-shaped bumps. By contrasting
Burmese Star Tortoise Read More »
Description The largest European tortoise is the Marginated tortoise. Its rectangular shell is noticeably thicker in the centre of the body. The shell’s back features a saw-like pattern with bell-shaped flanges. An adult specimen’s carapace is almost entirely black with yellow accents. The points of pairs of triangular markings on the lighter-colored ventral shell point
Marginated Tortoise Read More »