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Forest hinge-back tortoise | |
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At The Reptile Zoo | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
Family: | Testudinidae |
Genus: | Kinixys |
Species: | K. erosa |
Binomial name | |
Kinixys erosa (Schweigger, 1812) | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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The forest hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys erosa), also known commonly as the serrated hinge-back tortoise or Schweigger's tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is indigenous to the tropical forests and marshes of central and western Africa.
A different species, Psammobates oculifer , is known by a similar common name, serrated tortoise. [3]
The forest hinge-back tortoise is indigenous to the tropical rainforests of Sub-Saharan Africa. Here it is often found in marshes and river banks, where it spends much of its time buried under roots and logs.
Its natural range extends from northern Angola, throughout the Congo Basin, as far east as the shores of Lake Victoria, and throughout the West African forests as far as Senegal. Specifically, it is found in Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, possibly Benin, possibly Guinea-Bissau, and possibly Togo.
K. erosa can arch its back 90 degrees downwards to protect its tail and hind legs while sleeping and to protect itself from predators. It is an excellent swimmer[ citation needed ] and can dive and navigate rainforest water-bodies to search for food.
The female K. erosa lays up to 4 eggs on the ground, covered in leaves.
The forest hinge-back tortoise is omnivorous, feeding on edible leaves, grass, invertebrates, carrion, weeds, and fruits.
K. erosa is hunted locally for bush meat, and its range has retreated due to clearance of its rainforest habitat. The forest hinge-back tortoise is considered to be threatened in the long-term, primarily due to habitat destruction. [4]
Hyperolius cinnamomeoventris is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and possibly in Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sudan, and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical swamps, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, rural gardens, heavily degraded former forest, and ponds.
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Kinixys is a genus of turtles in the family Testudinidae. The genus was erected by Thomas Bell in 1827. The species in the genus Kinixys are native to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar and commonly known as hinged tortoises or hinge-back tortoises.
Home's hinge-back tortoise is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to Africa.
The Natal hinge-back tortoise, also known as Natal hinge-backed tortoise or Natal hinged tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae which is restricted to eastern southern Africa to a relatively small area around the borders of Mozambique, South Africa, and Eswatini.
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Phyllomacromia melania is a species of dragonfly in the family Macromiidae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, possibly Botswana, possibly Burundi, possibly Ivory Coast, possibly Gambia, possibly Mali, possibly Mozambique, possibly Namibia, possibly Senegal, possibly South Africa, possibly Sudan, possibly Togo, possibly Zambia, and possibly Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rivers, intermittent freshwater lakes, and intermittent freshwater marshes.
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August Friedrich Schweigger was a German naturalist born in Erlangen. He was the younger brother of scientist Johann Salomo Christoph Schweigger (1779-1857).
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