African spurred tortoise

Centrochelys sulcata · The African spurred tortoise is the largest mainland tortoise in Africa, living along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and the Sahel.

Also called Sulcata tortoise.

African spurred tortoise
Photo: ShajiA at Malayalam Wikipedia, Public domain
African spurred tortoise
Photo: John5199, CC BY 2.0
African spurred tortoise
Photo: Kolforn (Kolforn) I'd appreciate if you could mail me (Kolforn@gmail.com) if you want to use this picture out of the Wikimedia project scope. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons…, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderTestudines
FamilyTestudinidae
GenusCentrochelys
SpeciesCentrochelys sulcata

Where it lives

The Sahel, from Senegal and Mauritania east to Sudan and Ethiopia.

Fun facts

  • Hatchling African spurred tortoises are tiny, measuring only about 44 mm and weighing around 40 grams.
  • Once a tortoise weighs more than 30 kg, it's believed to be nearly immune to predators.
  • In the wild, these tortoises can dig burrows up to 15 m deep and 30 m long to escape the heat.
  • The top cause of death in the wild is getting stuck on their backs after fights between adult males flip them over.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).