Chersobius boulengeri

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Chersobius boulengeri
Karoo Padloper - RSA.jpg
Karoo padloper
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Chersobius
Species:
C. boulengeri
Binomial name
Chersobius boulengeri
Duerden, 1906 [2]
Synonyms [3] [4]

Chersobius boulengeri, commonly known as the Karoo padloper or Boulenger's cape tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to the Nama Karoo Region of South Africa. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Contents

Naming

Chersobius boulengeri is known by several common names. In southern Africa (and in much of the scientific community) it is known as the Karoo padloper, as it is the padloper species which is endemic to the Nama Karoo. [5] [6] It is also sometimes known as Boulenger's cape tortoise, as the Donner-weer tortoise, [9] [10] [11] and as Boulenger's padloper. [12]

The specific name, boulengeri, and some of the common names are in honor of Belgian-born British herpetologist George Albert Boulenger. [13]

Description

The Karoo padloper is a small tortoise with a relatively flat, brown shell (olive to reddish or orange brown). Though almost always of a uniform colour, the vertebral shields of its shell sometimes have slightly darker edges – especially in young specimens. Its colouration makes it especially well camouflaged in its arid rocky Karoo habitat.

Like the closely related speckled padloper (Chersobius signatus) and Nama padloper (Chersobius solus) to the west, it has five clawed toes on its front feet and four on its hind feet. Its weight is generally 100 to 150 grams (3.5 to 5.3 oz). The average straight carapace length is 100 mm (3.9 in), though adult females are larger than males. Adult males can also be distinguished from females by having slightly longer tails, and a concave belly (plastron). [14]

It looks superficially similar to the larger greater padloper (Homopus femoralis) of the grasslands in the east. However, the Karoo Padloper can be distinguished by its uniform colouration, its having five toes on its front feet versus four toes on its back feet, the smaller scales on its forelimbs, and its nostrils which are level with or above its eyes.

Distribution and habitat

C. boulengeri, a small, shy tortoise, occurs at relatively low densities in the succulent and desert shrubland of the central Karoo.

In its natural environment in the Great Karoo, it usually inhabits rocky outcrops and ridges of shale and ironstone. Here it hides in rock cracks and under ledges (rather than under vegetation, like many other tortoises). It has a very specialised diet (and therefore has a very poor survival rate in captivity). It is known for emerging just before thunderstorms, from which it got its local Afrikaans name of "Donnerweerskilpad" ("thunder tortoise"). [15]

Conservation and captivity

C. boulengeri is threatened by habitat destruction, [10] traffic on roads, overgrazing, and poaching for the pet trade. [16] As the trade in collected Chersobius species is strictly illegal and any captive specimens are systematically registered in noncommercial studbooks in South Africa and Namibia, any commercial sale of Chersobius tortoises is almost without exception strictly illegal. [17]

The species does not survive well in captivity, unless considerable effort is made to supply specimens with their natural food, that is, the indigenous plants from the Nama Karoo Region. It also has very specific temperature, moisture and climate requirements. [18]

Related Research Articles

Tortoise Family of turtles

Tortoises are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines. Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like other members of the suborder Cryptodira, they retract their necks and heads directly backward into the shell to protect them.

George Albert Boulenger Belgian-British zoologist

George Albert Boulenger was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botanist during the last 30 years of his life, especially in the study of roses.

Leopard tortoise Species of tortoise


The leopard tortoise is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. It is the only extant member of the genus Stigmochelys, although in the past, it was commonly placed in Geochelone. This tortoise is a grazing species that favors semiarid, thorny to grassland habitats. In both very hot and very cold weather, it may dwell in abandoned fox, jackal, or aardvark holes. The leopard tortoise does not dig other than to make nests in which to lay eggs. Given its propensity for grassland habitats, it grazes extensively upon mixed grasses. It also favors succulents and thistles.

<i>Chersobius signatus</i> Species of reptile

Chersobius signatus is the world's smallest species of tortoise. The species is commonly known as the speckled tortoise and also known locally as the speckled padloper and internationally as the speckled Cape tortoise. A member of the genus Chersobius, it is endemic to South Africa.

Asian giant softshell turtle Species of turtle

The Asian giant softshell turtle, also known commonly as Cantor's giant softshell turtle and the frog-faced softshell turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is native to Southeast Asia. The species is critically endangered and in the 20th century has disappeared from much of its former range.

Succulent Karoo Desert ecoregion of South Africa and Namibia

The Succulent Karoo is a ecoregion defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature to include regions of desert in South Africa and Namibia, and a biodiversity hotspot. The geographic area chosen by the WWF for what they call 'Succulent Karoo' does not correspond to the actual Karoo.

Wildlife of South Africa Flora and fauna of the country

The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 858 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.

Geometric tortoise Species of tortoise

The geometric tortoise is a critically endangered species of tortoise and one of three members of the genus Psammobates. It is found in a very small section in the South-Western Cape of South Africa.

Leptopelis boulengeri is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is found in southeastern Nigeria, southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and western Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is expected to be found in the Central African Republic and the Cabinda Enclave of Angola. Common name Victoria forest treefrog has been coined for it, apparently in reference to its type locality, "Victoria, Kamerun", now known as Limbe.

<i>Chersobius solus</i> Species of tortoise

Chersobius solus, commonly known as the Nama dwarf tortoise, the Nama padloper, and Berger's cape tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to Namibia.

<i>Homopus</i> Genus of small tortoises from southern Africa

Homopus is a genus of tiny tortoises in the family Testudinidae, endemic to southern Africa. Three species have been moved to the genus Chersobius.

Angulate tortoise Species of tortoise

The angulate tortoise is a species of tortoise found in dry areas and coastal scrub vegetation in South Africa. This tortoise is the only known member of the genus Chersina.

<i>Morethia boulengeri</i> Species of lizard

Morethia boulengeri is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia and Indonesia.

Serrated tortoise Species of tortoise

The serrated tortoise, Psammobates oculifer, German: Kalahari-Strahlenschildkröte, is a species of tortoise that occurs in the Kalahari desert regions of southern Africa. Also known as the Kalahari tent tortoise, it is one of three members of the genus, Psammobates.

Tent tortoise Species of tortoise

The tent tortoise is a species of tortoise and one of three members of the genus, Psammobates. Known locally as the Karoo tent tortoise, this highly variable species is found in South Africa and Namibia.

<i>Homopus areolatus</i> Species of tortoise

Homopus areolatus, commonly known as the common padloper or parrot-beaked tortoise, is a tiny species of tortoise of the genus Homopus, indigenous to the southern part of South Africa.

<i>Homopus femoralis</i> Species of tortoise

Homopus femoralis, commonly known as the greater padloper, is a small tortoise of the genus Homopus, indigenous to the highveld grasslands of South Africa.

Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden Botanical garden focused on succulents and other plants of arid regions

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<i>Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia</i> Species of snake

Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia, commonly known as the herald snake or the red-lipped snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa.

<i>Chersobius</i> Genus of turtles

Chersobius is a genus of tiny tortoises in the family Testudinidae, endemic to southern Africa. The genus includes the smallest tortoises in the world. All three species were previously assigned to the genus Homopus.

References

  1. ↑ Hofmeyr, M.D.; Loehr, V.J.T.; Baard, E.H.W.; Juvik, J.O. (2018). "Chersobius boulengeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T170521A115656360. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T170521A115656360.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Homopus boulengeri, Duerden, 1906, Taxonomic Serial No.: 551785, Retrieved August 20, 2013, from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, https://www.itis.gov.
  3. ↑ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 282. ISSN   1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-01. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Species Chersobius boulengeri at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  5. 1 2 Homopus Research Foundation website
  6. 1 2 Save Our Tortoises, CapeNature web site.
  7. ↑ IUCN.org IUCN Appendix 1. Regional Species Lists
  8. ↑ Slavens F, Slavens K (1991). Reptiles and Amphibians in Captivity – Breeding, Longevity and Inventory.
  9. 1 2 Homopus boulengeri (Boulenger's Cape Tortoise), Zipcodezoo.com.
  10. 1 2 Obst FJ, Richter K, Jacob U (1988). The Completely Illustrated Atlas of Reptiles and Amphibians for the Terrarium. T.F.H. Press.
  11. ↑ The Herpetology Sourcebook, Reptile & Amphibian Magazine, 1996-1997.
  12. ↑ Branch 2004.
  13. ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Homopus boulengeri, p. 34).
  14. ↑ Baard EHW (1994). Cape Tortoises: Their identification and care. Cape Nature Conservation.
  15. ↑ Boycott R, Bourquin O (1998). The South African Tortoise Book. Johannesburg: Southern Book Publishers.
  16. ↑ "Tortoises". Homopus Research Foundation. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  17. ↑ [ dead link ]
  18. ↑ Corton M. "Homopus (Padloper Tortoise) Care". World Chelonian Trust. (retrieved August 20, 2013).

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