The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is a threatened tortoisespecies native to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where it inhabits dry areas and scrub forest. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2016, as the population is thought to comprise more than 10,000 individuals, but with a declining trend. It is threatened by habitat loss and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade.[1] It was upgraded to CITES Appendix I in 2019 by full consensus among all member states, giving it the highest level of international protection from commercial trade. Conservation group TRAFFIC found 6,040 were seized globally that were intended to be sold in the pet trade.[3]
The carapace of G. elegans is very convex, with dorsal shields often forming humps; the lateral margins are nearly vertical; the posterior margin is somewhat expanded and strongly serrated. It has no nuchal scute, and the supracaudal is undivided, and curved inward in the male; the shields are strongly striated concentrically. The first vertebral scute is longer than broad, and the others are broader than long, with the third at least as broad as the corresponding costal. The plastron is large, truncated or openly notched in front, and deeply notched and bifid behind; the suture between the humerals is much longer than that between the femorals; the suture between the pectorals is very short; the axillary and inguinal sutures are rather small. The head is moderate in size, with the forehead swollen, convex, and covered with rather small and irregular shields; the beak is feebly hooked, bi- or tricuspid; the edges of the jaws are denticulated; the alveolar ridge of the upper jaw is strong. The outer-anterior face of the fore limbs have numerous unequal-sized, large, imbricate, bony, pointed tubercles; the heel has large, more or less spur-like tubercles; a group of large conical or subconical tubercles is found on the hinder side of the thigh. The carapace is black, with yellow areolae from which yellow streaks radiate; these streaks are usually narrow and very numerous. The plastron likewise has black and yellow, radiating streaks. The Indian star tortoise can grow to 10 inches long. [4]
Footprints
The patterning, although highly contrasting, is disruptive and breaks the outline of the tortoise as it sits in the shade of grass or vegetation. They are mostly herbivorous and feed on grasses, fallen fruit, flowers, and leaves of succulent plants, and will occasionally eat carrion. In captivity, however, they should never be fed meat.
The sexual dimorphism of adult Indian star tortoises is quite apparent. Females are considerably larger than their male counterparts. In addition, the females' plastrons are much flatter than those of the males, which have a concave shape.
The shape of this creature is presumed to be specially adapted to naturally assist it to return to a stable stance after it has been turned over. Mathematicians Gábor Domokos of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and Péter Várkonyi of Princeton University designed a homogeneous object called a gömböc that has exactly one unstable balance point and exactly one stable balance point. Just as a bottom-weighted (nonhomogeneous weight distribution) sphere would always return to the same upright position, they found it was possible to construct a shape that behaves the same way. After that, they noted the similarity to the Indian star tortoise and subsequently tested 30 turtles by turning them upside down. They found many of them to be self-righting.[5][6]
The Indian star tortoise ranges from India (except Lower Bengal), extending west to Sindh province (Pakistan) and Sri Lanka. A large number of specimens of this species are found in the illegal wildlife trade in India. Few studies exist which have quantified wild populations and the effect of trade on them.[7]
References
^ abcChoudhury, B.C.; de Silva, A.; Shepherd, C. (2020). "Geochelone elegans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T39430A123815345. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T39430A123815345.en. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
^Fritz, U. & Havaš, P. (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 279–368.
^"Reptiles and amphibians - Species we work with at TRAFFIC". www.traffic.org. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
^Boulenger, G.A.(1890) Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.
^CBC Quirks and Quarks 2007-10-27: "Turning Turtles". Interview with Dr. Gabor Domokos.
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March 04, 2023
indian, star, tortoise, geochelone, elegans, threatened, tortoise, species, native, india, pakistan, lanka, where, inhabits, areas, scrub, forest, been, listed, vulnerable, iucn, list, since, 2016, population, thought, comprise, more, than, individuals, with, . The Indian star tortoise Geochelone elegans is a threatened tortoise species native to India Pakistan and Sri Lanka where it inhabits dry areas and scrub forest It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2016 as the population is thought to comprise more than 10 000 individuals but with a declining trend It is threatened by habitat loss and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade 1 It was upgraded to CITES Appendix I in 2019 by full consensus among all member states giving it the highest level of international protection from commercial trade Conservation group TRAFFIC found 6 040 were seized globally that were intended to be sold in the pet trade 3 Indian star tortoiseConservation statusVulnerable IUCN 3 1 1 CITES Appendix I CITES 1 Scientific classificationKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ReptiliaOrder TestudinesSuborder CryptodiraSuperfamily TestudinoideaFamily TestudinidaeGenus GeocheloneSpecies G elegansBinomial nameGeochelone elegansSchoepff 1795Synonyms 2 Testudo elegans Schoepff 1795 Testudo stellata Schweigger 1812 Chersine elegans Merrem 1820 Testudo actinoides Bell 1828 Testudo actinodes Gray 1831 ex errore Geochelone Geochelone stellata Fitzinger 1835 Testudo megalopus Blyth 1853 Peltastes stellatus Gray 1870 Geochelone elegans Loveridge amp Williams 1957 Geochelone elegans elegans Obst 1985 Geochelone elagans Sharma 1998 ex errore Contents 1 Anatomy and morphology 2 Distribution and habitat 3 References 4 External linksAnatomy and morphology EditThe carapace of G elegans is very convex with dorsal shields often forming humps the lateral margins are nearly vertical the posterior margin is somewhat expanded and strongly serrated It has no nuchal scute and the supracaudal is undivided and curved inward in the male the shields are strongly striated concentrically The first vertebral scute is longer than broad and the others are broader than long with the third at least as broad as the corresponding costal The plastron is large truncated or openly notched in front and deeply notched and bifid behind the suture between the humerals is much longer than that between the femorals the suture between the pectorals is very short the axillary and inguinal sutures are rather small The head is moderate in size with the forehead swollen convex and covered with rather small and irregular shields the beak is feebly hooked bi or tricuspid the edges of the jaws are denticulated the alveolar ridge of the upper jaw is strong The outer anterior face of the fore limbs have numerous unequal sized large imbricate bony pointed tubercles the heel has large more or less spur like tubercles a group of large conical or subconical tubercles is found on the hinder side of the thigh The carapace is black with yellow areolae from which yellow streaks radiate these streaks are usually narrow and very numerous The plastron likewise has black and yellow radiating streaks The Indian star tortoise can grow to 10 inches long 4 Footprints The patterning although highly contrasting is disruptive and breaks the outline of the tortoise as it sits in the shade of grass or vegetation They are mostly herbivorous and feed on grasses fallen fruit flowers and leaves of succulent plants and will occasionally eat carrion In captivity however they should never be fed meat The sexual dimorphism of adult Indian star tortoises is quite apparent Females are considerably larger than their male counterparts In addition the females plastrons are much flatter than those of the males which have a concave shape The shape of this creature is presumed to be specially adapted to naturally assist it to return to a stable stance after it has been turned over Mathematicians Gabor Domokos of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and Peter Varkonyi of Princeton University designed a homogeneous object called a gomboc that has exactly one unstable balance point and exactly one stable balance point Just as a bottom weighted nonhomogeneous weight distribution sphere would always return to the same upright position they found it was possible to construct a shape that behaves the same way After that they noted the similarity to the Indian star tortoise and subsequently tested 30 turtles by turning them upside down They found many of them to be self righting 5 6 Distribution and habitat Edit Adult in Houston Zoo The Indian star tortoise ranges from India except Lower Bengal extending west to Sindh province Pakistan and Sri Lanka A large number of specimens of this species are found in the illegal wildlife trade in India Few studies exist which have quantified wild populations and the effect of trade on them 7 References Edit a b c Choudhury B C de Silva A Shepherd C 2020 Geochelone elegans IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020 e T39430A123815345 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2020 2 RLTS T39430A123815345 en Retrieved 22 January 2022 Fritz U amp Havas P 2007 Checklist of Chelonians of the World Vertebrate Zoology 57 2 279 368 Reptiles and amphibians Species we work with at TRAFFIC www traffic org Retrieved 2019 01 10 Boulenger G A 1890 Fauna of British India Reptilia and Batrachia CBC Quirks and Quarks 2007 10 27 Turning Turtles Interview with Dr Gabor Domokos Varkonyi P L Domokos G Mono monostatic bodies the answer to Arnold s question The Mathematical Intelligencer 28 4 pp 34 38 2006 https doi org 10 1007 BF02984701 Uncovering the tortoise trade route External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Indian star tortoise Indian Star Tortoise Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Indian star tortoise amp oldid 1118988284, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
