Encyclopedia
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Category: Testudinidae (Tortoises)
Impressed Tortoise
A secretive, high-altitude forest tortoise whose name reflects the concave (impressed) appearance of its carap…
Geometric Tortoise
One of the rarest tortoises in Africa, with a strikingly patterned shell of black plates bearing yellow star p…
Tent Tortoise
A small tortoise with a strikingly tall, pyramidal (tent-like) shell decorated with radiating yellow and black…
Spider Tortoise
A small tortoise with a beautiful shell bearing dark 'spider-web' radiating lines on a pale background.
Flat-tailed Tortoise
A small, extremely flattened tortoise whose shell is flatter than that of the spider tortoise, an adaptation f…
Leopard Tortoise
A large, striking tortoise whose high, domed shell is covered with bold black spots and blotches on a yellow-t…
Greek Tortoise (Spur-thighed Tortoise)
A medium-sized tortoise with a high domed shell and distinctive conical 'spurs' on each thigh, giving it its a…
Hermann's Tortoise
A handsome medium-sized tortoise with a domed yellow-and-black shell and two dark bands on the plastron, plus …
Russian Tortoise (Horsfield's Tortoise)
A small, hardy tortoise of the Central Asian steppes, with a flattened, rounded shell that is olive to tan.
Egyptian Tortoise
One of the smallest tortoises in the world, with a pale, high-domed shell that may have darker marginal markin…
Marginated Tortoise
The largest European tortoise, recognised by the flared, serrated rear marginal scutes of its dark, elongated …
Seychelles Giant Tortoise Complex (Geochelone gigantea (syn. Aldabrachelys))
A grouping of the giant tortoises of the Seychelles, with several forms historically recognised (gigantea, hol…
African Spurred Tortoise (alt.)
(Synonym of Centrochelys sulcata; the two names are used interchangeably in the literature.
