Greater Karroo Tortoise
Homopus femoralis
Summary 3
The Karoo Cape tortoise (Homopus femoralis), also known as the greater padloper,Karroo Cape tortoise, or Karroo tortoise, is a tiny tortoise of the Homopus genus, endemic to the grasslands and Karoo regions of South Africa.
Diagnosis 3
As its name suggests, the greater padloper is the largest of all the Homopus ("padloper") tortoises, but it is nonetheless tiny, averaging slightly over 10 cm in length – though males tend to be smaller. It has relatively large buttock tubercles. Like its close relative, H. areolatus (and unlike other padlopers), it has only four toes on its front feet as well as its hind feet.
Its shell ranges in colour from olive to reddish-brown, and is slightly flattened in both sexes. The shields tend to be separated by very thin white lines. In juveniles and adult males, the shields of the shell usually have slightly darker edges. Males can also be distinguished from females by being smaller, with longer tails. Males do not exhibit plastral concavity.
This species is sometimes confused with the Karoo padloper (H. boulengeri) which inhabits the Karoo region to the west. However greater padlopers can be distinguished not only by their larger size, but also by their nostrils which are below their eye level, by their having four toes on both their front and back feet, by the larger scales on their forelimbs, and by the darker rings around the shell scutes of many individuals.[1]
Conservation 4
The grassland species is threatened by overgrazing and poaching for the pet trade.[2] As the trade in collected Homopus species is strictly illegal and any captive specimens are systematically registered in noncommercial studbooks in South Africa and Namibia, any commercial sale of Homopus tortoises is almost without exception strictly illegal. [3]
This species does not survive for long in captivity, unless considerable effort is made to supply specimens with their natural food, that is, endemic plants from the summer-rainfall grasslands region of South Africa. This summer-rainfall tortoise also has specific temperature requirements. They spend winter under vegetation and rocks (June–September) and lay up to three eggs in summer.[4]
Sources and Credits 5
- E.H.W. Baard (1994). Cape Tortoises: Their identification and care. Cape Nature Conservation.
- http://home.caiway.nl/~loehr/tortoises.html
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2014-03-07.[p1][category]=342&sm[p1][persistent]=1
- Corton, M., Homopus (Padloper Tortoise) Care, World Chelonian Trust (retrieved August 20, 2013).
Sources and Credits
- Abu Shawka, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Greater_Padloper_-_RSA.jpg
- Abu Shawka, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Greater_Padloper_-_RSA_2.jpg
- Adapted by calebcam from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homopus_femoralis
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homopus_femoralis
- (c) calebcam, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
