You are here: Home » Animals » African Spurred Tortoise
African Spurred Tortoise
Geochelone sulcata
CLASS: Reptilia
ORDER: Chelonia
FAMILY: Testudinidae
GENUS: Geochelone
SPECIES: Sulcata
LIFESPAN: Up to 100 years
COLOR/PATTERN: Adults shell is uniform brown to horn. Plastron, head and limbs are uniform yellow. Juveniles have pale yellow shell with brown on scutes. Plastron is yellow-white, and they have lighter areoles on shell plates.
HABITAT: Dry regions including; woodlands, semi desert grass and shrub lands.
RANGE: Central and Northern Africa
LENGTH: Males up to 35 inches, females up to 26 inches.
WEIGHT: 80 to 110 pounds average with some reaching over 200 pounds.
REPRODUCTION: They reach sexually maturity at 25 to 30 years of age. Mating takes place during the rainy season usually in February or March. Females dig a hole and lay between 20 to 30 eggs.
INCUBATION: 212 days
DIET: Grazes on grass and shrubs
ACTIVE: Diurnal
STATUS: Common, not listed as threatened or endangered
NOTES:
- The African spurred is the largest mainland tortoise.
- They get their name from the presence of two or three strong spurs on each side of its tail.
- It can obtain sufficient water from consumed vegetation.
- It avoids excessive moisture loss by having a highly impermeable skin and also by digging shallow burrows in the ground.
- African spurred tortoises need lots of space.
- They do not hibernate.
- They do not tolerate cold or damp conditions.
- They are the 3rd largest tortoise species in the world.
- African spurs grow very rapidly.
- They are very strong and will walk over and knock over anything in their way.
- Adult males will hiss when approached too closely and retreat in their shell.
- African spurs make a variety of sounds including; croaks, grunts, and whistles.
They require a very high fiber intake.
Last Update:Saturday, May 14, 2005 at 13:39:00
