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Indian Star Tortoise
Burmese Star Tortoise
Other Starred Tortoises
Angulate Tortoise
Misc. Pages
Tidbit:
The South African Angulate tortoise (Chersina angulata) should not be confused with the critically endangered Madagascar Angulated Tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora).
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Angulate Tortoise Profile
Bowsprit tortoise, Chersina angulata
The Angulate tortoise is named after the black triangles on the marginal scutes. Even though it is not a star-patterned tortoise, it has lovely shell markings of dots and stripes. So, it's a star among tortoises in my book. :O)
It's a beautiful tortoise native to South Africa and a small part of Namibia. It's also called the Bowsprit tortoise. This name comes from the large, undivided gular scute (throat shield) the tortoise has under its head. Bow is the most forward part of a ship, and bowsprit of a sailing ship is the long pole extending out in the front of the ship.
Profile
Common names
- Angulate tortoise
- Angulated tortoise
- Bowsprit tortoise
- Cape Angulate tortoise
- Fighting tortoise
- South African Bowsprit tortoise
- Afrikanische Schnabelbrustschildkröte - German
- Boegsprietschildpad - Dutch
- Snavelborstschildpad - Dutch
- Rooipens skilpad (red-bellied tortoise) - Afrikaans
- Geelpensskilpad (yellow-bellied tortoise)
- Ploegskaarskilpad
- sydafrikansk bogsprötssköldpadda - Swedish
- Tortuga angulada - Spanish
- Tortuga ariete - Spanish
- Tortuga de pechera - Spanish
- Tortue à soc d'Afrique du Sud - French
- Tortue angulée - French
- In the past, Bowsprit tortoise was the familiar name for Chersina angulata. Today, both Angulate tortoise and Angulated tortoise are commonly used. CITES uses the common name Angulated tortoise (with letter d at the end).
Current classification
- Kingdom Animalia - animals
- Phylum Chordata - chordates
- Class Reptilia - reptiles
- Order Testudines - turtles, tortoises, and terrapins
- Family Testudinidae - tortoises
- Genus Chersina - Bowsprited Tortoises
- Species Chersina angulata - South African bowsprit tortoise, Angulate tortoise
- Chersina angulata (Schweigger 1812)
Old name
Confusing names
- South African Angulate tortoise (Chersina angulata) is not the same species as the Madagascar Angulated Tortoise aka Angonoka or Ploughshare tortoise (Astrochelys [Geochelone] yniphora) which is critically endangered and on the ICUN Red list [offsite link]
Distribution
- mostly South Africa, some in Namibia
- mostly confined to the Cape
- fairly dense populations are found in coastal regions (e.g. Cape Floristic Region) and Dassen Island
Size
- medium-sized tortoise
- males up to 10.5" (27 cm)
- females up to 8.5" (21.5 cm)
- a few may grow up to 12" (30 cm)
- specimens on the west coast and especially on the Dassen Island tend to grow larger than those from the eastern part of their range
Carapace, plastron and coloring
- domed, elongated shell with steep sides
- carapace (top shell) coloring is a mix of light-brown or yellow and black, but color pattern varies even within a population
- some animals are lighter, some are darker
- older tortoises become more brown colored
- carapace scutes have a yellow or orange-reddish center with a dark dot in the middle
- plastron (bottom shell) may be light-brown to pale yellow; or have bright colors of yellow, orange or red
- has a single, undivided gular scute below the head
Habitat
- a variety of natural habitats in different climate zones with different vegetation
- from semi-desert regions to high rainfall areas
- depending on where they live, they may endure extremely hot summers and cold to freezing winters
- habitats include fynbos (scrub land), succulent Karoo (arid with succulents), Nama Karoo (arid scrub land), and Albany Thicket (scrub land with succulents)
- said to prefer sandy coastal regions with bushveld (sub-tropical woodland) and fynbos (type of vegetation of small trees and scrubs, found only on the southern tip of South Africa)
- inhabits many national parks, e.g. Addo, Table Mountain, West Coast
- Dassen Island has the highest density of Angulate tortoises. It is a small island nature reserve in the Western Cape about 34 miles (55 km) north of Cape Town and north of Robben Island (SA map). Dassen Island experiences a temperate, Mediterranean-type climate. Mediterranean climate (climate map) is characterized by warm to hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. This climate is mainly found in California, Central Chile, the Cape Region of South Africa, the southwestern part of Australia and, of course, around the Mediterranean Sea.
Diet
- diet varies depending on the region where they live
- includes grasses, herbs, annuals, and succulents
- sometimes snails and feces of other animals
- can drink through their noses
Male vs female
- males grow larger than females (unlike most small tortoises)
- males have longer gular shields
- males have longer tails
- males have concave plastrons
- males are flatter and longer
- males may have wider posterior carapaces
Angulate tortoise female
Angulate tortoise male
Mating and reproduction
- males don't defend territories, but fight over dominance and mating rights
- males bite, push, and ram other males and try to overturn them with their protruding gulars
- males pursue females and nip their legs and tail, nudge, and grunt
- mating may occur throughout the year
- mature at 7-12 years of age
- females may lay eggs up to 6 times a year; usually one egg at a time, but sometimes two
- eggs are laid in sandy hills with good sun exposure
- rain stimulates egg laying
- natural incubation lasts 90-200 days
- hatchlings are about 1.2-1.5" (30-39 mm) long and weigh 0.3-0.6 oz (8-18 g)
Activity and personality
- lively, quick, and agile, but shy and secretive
- retreats into its shells quickly if alarmed
- likes to bask, and often does so in the cover of vegetation
- likes to hide under plants, and may partially bury into the sand
- not a burrower, but hides in natural tunnels
- may remain active throughout the year
- typically, active between 57° F (14° C) and 84° F (29° C)
- on cool days, it's active in the middle of the day
- on hot days, it's active mornings and afternoons
- rain and fog increase activity
- one of southern Africa's hardiest tortoises
- captive-breds can become responsive to owners
- lifespan 30 years or more
Captive care
- known to have lived over 30 years in captivity
- see the Angulate care page
Conservation
- a protected wild animal by the Nature Conservation Ordinance 19 of 1974
- Appendix II of CITES 01/07/1975 (regulates international trade)
- not in South African Red Data Book
- not on the IUCN Red List
- not considered threatened nationally in South Africa, but local populations may be threatened
- dangers include loss of habitat due to agricultural and urban development, illegal collection for pets and food (tortoise barbeque, skildpadbraai), wild fires, cars, dogs, and natural predators like baboons, jackals, mongoose, and birds
Tortoises with a similar shell pattern
- Some Greek tortoises (Testudo graeca) have a striped and dotted shell pattern similar to that of an all-brown Angulate tortoise; example photos offsite: ex 1 (Tunisia), ex 2 (Morocco), ex 3 (Spain)
- Marginated tortoises (Testudo marginata) may also look similar to all-brown Angulate tortoises; example photos offsite: ex 1, ex 2
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