Forsten's tortoise

Forsten's tortoise
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Indotestudo
Species:	I. forstenii
Binomial name
Indotestudo forstenii (Schlegel & Müller, 1845)
Synonyms[1]
Testudo forstenii Schlegel & Müller, 1845 Peltastes forstenii — Gray, 1872 Testudo forsteni E. Williams, 1952 (ex errore) Geochelone forsteni — Pritchard, 1967 Geochelone forstenii — Honegger, 1980 Indotestudo forstenii — Bour, 1980 Indotestudo forsteni — Groombridge, 1982 Indotestudo elongata forsteni — Obst, 1985 Geochelone elongata forsteni — Gosławski & Hryniewicz, 1993 Indotestudo foresternii Choudhury & Bhupathy, 1993 (ex errore)

Forsten's tortoise (Indotestudo forstenii) is one of three tortoise species placed in the genus Indotestudo, the others being the elongated tortoise (I. elongata), and travancore tortoise (I.travancorica).

Etymology

The specific name, forstenii, is in honor of Dutch botanist Eltio Alegondas Forsten.^[2]

Geographic range

Indotestudo forsteni can be found in Sulawesi Island of Indonesia, and its nearby island such as Halmahera island.

Taxonomy

Indotestudo travancorica, found in the Western Ghats of India, has been previously considered a synonym of Indotestudo forstenii, but is now treated as a separate species.

Gallery

• 
  Baby Forsten's Tortoise

See also

• Sulawesi forest turtle (Leucocephalon yuwonoi) – another threatened turtle endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia.

References

Further reading

• Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2000). "Indotestudo forstenii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2006. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 11 May 2006.  Database entry includes justification for why this species is endangered.
• Boulenger GA. 1907. A new tortoise from Travancore. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 17: 560-564.
• Iverson, John B.; Spinks, Phillip Q.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; McCord, William P.; Das, Indraneil. 2001. Phylogenetic relationships among the Asian tortoises of the genus Indotestudo (Reptilia: Testudines: Testudinidae). Hamadryad 26 (2): 271-274.
• Pritchard, Peter CH. 2000. Indotestudo travancorica. A Valid Species of Tortoise? Reptile & Amphibian Hobbyist 5 (2): 18-28.
• Radhakrishnan, C. 1998. Additional record of the travancore tortoise, Indotestudo forstenii (Schlegel & Muller) (Testudinita: Reptilia) in Kerala. Cobra 34 (Oct.-Dec.): 19-20.

External links

• Indotestudo forstenii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
• http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Indotestudo_forsteni1.jpg
• http://studbooks.org

Tortoise family of turtles (Testudinidae)
Genus	Species of the tortoise family
Aldabrachelys	Aldabra giant tortoise
Astrochelys	Angonoka tortoise Radiated tortoise
Chelonoidis	Yellow-footed tortoise Chaco tortoise Galápagos tortoise Red-footed tortoise
Chersina	Angulate tortoise
Centrochelys	African spurred tortoise
Cylindraspis†	Domed Mauritius giant tortoise† Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise† Réunion giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise†
Geochelone	Burmese star tortoise Indian star tortoise
Gopherus	Bolson tortoise Desert tortoise Gopher tortoise Sonoran Desert tortoise Texas tortoise
Homopus	Common padloper Nama padloper Karoo padloper Greater padloper Speckled padloper
Indotestudo	Elongated tortoise Forsten's tortoise Travancore tortoise
Kinixys	Bell's hinge-back tortoise Forest hinge-back tortoise Home's hinge-back tortoise Lobatse hinge-back tortoise Natal hinge-back tortoise Speke's hinge-back tortoise
Malacochersus	Pancake tortoise
Manouria	Asian forest tortoise Impressed tortoise
Psammobates	Geometric tortoise Serrated tortoise Tent tortoise
Pyxis	Flat-backed spider tortoise Spider tortoise
Stigmochelys	Leopard tortoise
Testudo	Hermann's tortoise Kleinmann's tortoise Marginated tortoise Russian tortoise Spur-thighed tortoise
Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2012 update: annotated checklist. Key: †=extinct.