Speke's hinge-back tortoise

Speke's hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys spekii), also known commonly as Speke's hingeback tortoise,[2] is a species of turtle in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to Africa.

Speke's hinge-back tortoise
Speke's hinge-back tortoise at Kruger National Park, South Africa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Kinixys
Species:
K. spekii
Binomial name
Kinixys spekii
Gray, 1863
Synonyms[1]
  • Kinixys spekii
    Gray, 1863
  • Cinixys spekii
    — Boulenger, 1889
  • Homopus darlingi
    Boulenger, 1902
  • Testudo procterae
    Loveridge, 1923
  • Kinixys australis
    Hewitt, 1931
  • Kinixys darlingi
    — Hewitt, 1931
  • Kinixys jordani
    Hewitt, 1931
  • Kinixys youngi
    Hewitt, 1931
  • Kinixys australis mababiensis
    V. FitzSimons, 1932
  • Kinixys australis australis
    — Mertens, L. Müller & Rust, 1934
  • Kinixys belliana spekei
    Mertens, Müller & Rust, 1934
    (ex errore)
  • Malacochersus procterae
    — Mertens, Müller & Rust, 1934
  • Kinixys belliana australis
    — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955
  • Kinixys belliana darlingi
    — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955
  • Kinixys belliana mababiensis
    — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955
  • Kinixys belliana spekii
    — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955

Etymology

The specific name, spekii, is in honor of English explorer John Hanning Speke.[3]

Description

K. spekii has an elongated carapace, up to 20 cm (7.9 in) in straight length, which is distinctly flattened, allowing it to seek refuge in rock crevices and under logs (the co-occurring pancake tortoise is even more flattened). Its carapace has a weak, disrupted medial keel, and posterior marginals that are neither strongly serrated nor reverted. This species has a well-developed hinge at the rear end of the upper part of its shell, permitting the protection of its rear legs after they have been retracted.[4] The male has a notably longer tail than the female of this species, and the tails end in a spine. Females possess a flat plastron, yet males have a more concave one.[2]

Geographic range

Speke's hinge-back tortoise is found in East Africa from Uganda and Kenya south to Eswatini, next to Mozambique and Zululand. Its range extends westwards as far as the coast of Angola.[5]

Habitat

K. spekii inhabits savannahs and dry bush with rocky areas. It tends to inhabit more wooded areas during the dry season, and to move out into the savannahs when the summer rains come.

Diet

K. spekii feeds on small flowers, leaves, grass, herbs, succulents and fungi. It also eats snails and other small invertebrates, having a special preference for millipedes.[4]

Reproduction

Females of K. spekii lay a small clutch of two to four eggs in the summer.

References
  1. Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 286–287. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-01. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  2. Tabaka, Chris, DVM (2003). "Differentiating Male and Female Kinixys spekii (Speck's [sic] hingeback tortoise)". World Chelonian Trust. Chelonia.org
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Kinixys spekii, p. 249).
  4. nlbif.eti.uva.nl Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. Species Kinixys spekii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading
  • Gray JE (1863). "Notice of a new Species of Kinixys and other Tortoises from Central Africa". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Third Series 12: 381-382. (Kinixys spekii, new species).
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