Flat turtles
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| Duméril & Bibron , 1834 |
Flat turtles are a genus of the neck turtle and belong to the family of tortoises . You belong to five species, all of which are native to southern Africa.
Appearance
These turtles are very small turtles with shell lengths of 7–17 cm. The sawn flat turtle, the smallest species of turtle, belongs to it. A characteristic of this genus is that the armor on the back is relatively flat. In contrast to many other species of tortoises, the shields are not even or even raised, but often even have a sunken center. The turtles of this genus have paired and thickened throat shields. These are usually wider than they are long. Two of the species, H. areolatus and H . femoralis , both the fore and hind legs have only four claws. The scientific name, Homopus (equus foot), is derived from this. The other three species each have five claws on their forelegs.
Duration
Two of the species, including the sawed-up flat turtle, are classified as Endangered by the IUCN . So far, the distribution, population density and speed of reproduction of this genus have not been sufficiently scientifically investigated. Causes that are potentially threatening to the population of these species include loss of individuals from traffic accidents, the effects of climate change , overgrazing by domestic animals, mining and illegal trapping for the pet trade.
species
The genus of flat turtles comprises five species. The fifth species was not described until 2007.
- Areole flat turtle ( Homopus areolatus (Thunberg, 1787))
- Boulengers flat turtle ( Homopus boulengeri Duerden, 1906)
- Spurred flat turtle ( Homopus femoralis Boulenger, 1888)
- Sawed flat turtle ( Homopus signatus (Gmelin, 1789))
- Nama flat turtle ( Homopus solus Branch, 2007)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Website about the flat turtles - English
- ↑ Rogner, p. 84
literature
- Boycott, Richard C. and Ortwin Bourquin (2000). The Southern African Tortoise Book: A guide to southern African tortoises, terrapins and turtles. O. Bourquin, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, ISBN 0-620-26536-1
- Manfred Rogner (2008): Turtles - biology, keeping, reproduction , Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3-8001-5440-1
Web links
- Website about the homopus (English)
- Homopus in The Reptile Database