Travancore tortoise

Travancore Tortoise
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Indotestudo
Species:	I. travancorica
Binomial name
Indotestudo travancorica (Boulenger, 1907)
Synonyms[1]
Testudo travancorica Boulenger, 1907 Geochelone travancorica Auffenberg, 1964 Indotestudo travancorica Bour, 1980 Indotestudo elongata travancorica Obst, 1985 Geochelone elongata travancorica Gosławski & Hryniewicz, 1993 Indotestudo travancoica Orenstein, 2001 (ex errore) Testudo travencorica Rao, 2006 (ex errore)

The Travancore tortoise (Indotestudo travancorica)^[2] is a large forest tortoise growing up to 330 millimetres (13 in) in length. It primarily feeds on grasses and herbs. It also feeds on molluscs, insects, animal carcass, fungi and fruits. It occurs in hill forests at 450–850 m elevation. Males combat by ramming their shell during their breeding season between November and March. It makes a shallow nest in the ground and lay 1-5 eggs. Hatchlings are 55–60 mm in size. The tortoise is hunted and it is threatened due to forest fires, habitat destruction and fragmentation.

• Identification: a scute right behind the head is absent and the second scute along the vertebral column is located at the highest point of the shell.
• Status: IUCN Red list - Vulnerable; Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act: Schedule IV.
• Distribution: restricted to the Western Ghats, in the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu (India).
• Vernacular names:
  • Tamil: Periya amai, Kal amai.
  • Kadas: Vengala amai.
  • Kannada: Betta aame, Gudde aame, Kadu aame.
  • Malayalam: Churrel aama.

References

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.