Order: Testudines

Family: Testudinidae

 

Size:  up to 20-30 cm in length.

Weight: up to 1.3-2.2 kg

 

Key Features: carapace is very convex, with dorsal shields often forming humps; the lateral margins are nearly vertical; the posterior margin is somewhat expanded and strongly serrated. The head is moderate in size, with the forehead swollen, convex, and covered with rather small and irregular shields; the beak is feebly hooked, bi- or tricuspid; the edges of the jaws are denticulated; the alveolar ridge of the upper jaw is strong. The carapace is black, with yellow areolae from which yellow streaks radiate; these streaks are usually narrow and very numerous. The plastron likewise has black and yellow, radiating streaks.

 

Breeding: mates during monsoon season, so the exact time is dependent on the area in which the individual lives. Females lay an average of 7 eggs per clutch although, this can be as many as 10.

 

Diet: mostly herbivorous and feed on grasses, fallen fruit, flowers, and leaves of succulent plants, and will occasionally eat carrion.

 

Habitat: semi-arid scrub forest, along with thorny and grassland habitats, where there is plenty of vegetation both to hide in and munch on.

 

Habits: The Indian star tortoise browses in the dry forests of the Indian sub-continent in search of a wide variety of plant life from leaves, to fruits and berries and numerous different species of flower that are found growing in such arid environments.

 

Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Geochelone elegans . In A-Z Animals. Retrieved on 08th July, 2014 from http://a-z-animals.com/animals/indian-star-tortoise/

 

Vyas, R. and Parasharya, B.M. (2000). Distribution and Status of Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans) in Gujarat State, India. Zoos' Print Journal 15(4):239-242.

 

Uwe, F., Havas, P. (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology 57 (2): 279. ISSN 18640-5755.

 

Boulenger, G.A.(1890). Reptilia and Batrachia. In W.T. Blanford (Ed.), The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Berlin:

https://archive.org/stream/reptiliabatrachi00bouliala#page/n1/mode/2up

 

IUCN Red List (2014). http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/39430/0

 

Photo Courtesy

Jacob Jose, Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons