The tent tortoise (Psammobates tentorius) is a species of tortoise and one of three members of the genus, Psammobates.[4] Known locally as the Karoo tent tortoise, this highly variable species is found in South Africa and Namibia.[5]
The Karoo tent tortoise occurs at very low densities throughout the Karoo and other semi-desert areas of southern Africa, extending from central Namibia almost to the southern coast of South Africa.
Within this range, its population is very sparse and individuals are normally rare and widely separated. The species is also increasingly rare due to habitat destruction and illegal collecting for the pet trade. Due to its specific diet that consists of certain Karoo plants, this species rarely survives in captivity and usually soon dies when taken outside of its natural habitat.
Identification
The Karoo tent tortoise is a very variable species, with at least three subspecies. Its shell is dark brown or black with a pattern of yellow or orange striped stars radiating from the centre of each domed shield making up the carapace. The tent tortoise has a beautiful geometric pattern of 'Bedouin tents' on its upper shell, and this is appropriate, for it is quite at home in the semi-desert. The colouring and size of this little tortoise vary greatly, particularly from one area to another, but also within a single 'population'. Occasional specimens are a uniform brown, though this is very rare. Male specimens are much smaller than the females, and have concave bellies.
Although this species shares much of its superficial outer appearance with its relatives in the genus Psammobates, it can easily be distinguished by its un-serrated shell margins, and the scutes along its shell bridge, which are broader than they are high.
Southern ("Karoo") tent tortoise, Psammobates tentorius tentorius (type species) or common tent tortoise. Authority: Bell 1828. Distribution: The southern Karoo region. South Africa(Southern and eastern Karoo from Grahamstown to Matjiesfontein). This subspecies has the most sharply raised 'tents' (conical scutes), with dull yellow stars radiating on a black background.[6][7]
Western ("Namaqualand") tent tortoise, Psammobates tentorius trimeni. Authority: Boulenger, 1886. Distribution: The Namaqualand Coast of Namibia and South Africa (from Lambert's Bay north to beyond the Orange River in Great Namaqualand - extreme western Cape Provinces). This is the smallest subspecies, with the boldest, brightest colouring and well-developed 'tents' (conical shell scutes).[6][7]
Northern ("Bushmanland") tent tortoise, Psammobates tentorius verroxii. Authority: Smith, 1839. Distribution: The driest parts of the Karoo inland. Namibia (Northwest to the Great Namaqualand) and South Africa(Northern Cape Province). This subspecies has a flatter, rounder shell with underdeveloped 'tents', and more faded brown colouring.[6][7]
Behaviour
The female tent tortoise lays a clutch of one to three eggs, and buries them in the sand as all other tortoises do. The young emerge in late summer or early autumn.
Diet
They depend on a very specialised diet including assorted Karoo bushes, mesembryanthemums and other South African succulents. Due to this diet, this little tortoise does not usually survive in captivity and usually dies soon, when taken outside of its semi-desert habitat.
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.
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 Province. 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 burrows. 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.
The African helmeted turtle, also known commonly as the marsh terrapin, the crocodile turtle, or in the pet trade as the African side-necked turtle, is a species of omnivorous side-necked terrapin in the family Pelomedusidae. The species naturally occurs in fresh and stagnant water bodies throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa, and in southern Yemen.
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.
The Indian tent turtle is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is found in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
The Amboina box turtle or Southeast Asian box turtle is a species of Asian box turtle widely distributed across Southeast Asia. It is native to the Asian mainland from northeast India, through Bangladesh, Burma and Thailand, across Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. It is also found on the archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines.
Oldham's leaf turtle is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae.
The radiated tortoise is a tortoise species in the family Testudinidae. Although this species is native to and most abundant in southern Madagascar, it can also be found in the rest of this island, and has been introduced to the islands of Réunion and Mauritius. It is a very long-lived species, with recorded lifespans of up to 188 years. These tortoises are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN, mainly because of the destruction of their habitat and because of poaching.
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.
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.
The spider tortoise is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae that is endemic to Madagascar and is one of only two species in the genus Pyxis.
The flat-backed spider tortoise, more commonly known as the flat-tailed tortoise, and Madagascan flat-tailed tortoise, is a tortoise that belongs to the family Testudinidae. The various common names for this small tortoise usually refer to the noticeably flattened nature of its oblong upper-shell or its tail.
Bell's hinge-back tortoise, also known commonly as Bell's eastern hinged tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to central Africa. It has the hinge that characterizes all tortoises in the genus Kinixys. There are no recognized subspecies.
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.
Psammobates is a genus of tortoise erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1835. This genus contains three species, all of which are indigenous to southern Africa.
The serrated tortoise 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.
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.
Homopus femoralis, commonly known as the greater padloper, is a small tortoise of the genus Homopus, indigenous to the highveld grasslands of South Africa.
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.
Anacampseros albissima is a species of succulent plant native to the Karoo desert of South Africa. Its common name in Afrikaans, skilpadkos, means 'tortoise food'.
References
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Duméril, A. M.C., G. BIBRON & A. DUMÉRIL 1854. Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 9. Paris, XX + 440 S.
Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
Greig, J.C., and P.D. Burdett. 1976. Patterns in the distributions of Southern African terrestrial tortoises (Cryptodira: Testudinidae). Zool. Africana 11(2): 250–267.
Hughes, B. 1986. Longevity Records of African Captive Amphibians and Reptiles: Part 1: Introduction and Species List 1 - Amphibians and Chelonians Jour. Herp. Ass. Afr. (32): 1–5
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