Elongated Tortoise (species: Indotestudo elongata) in Laos Wildlife (Gaia Guide)
Indotestudo elongata
Elongated Tortoise


©Bernard Dupont: Elongated Tortoise (Indotestudo elongata)
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Reptilia
Order Testudines
Family Testudinidae
Genus Indotestudo
Species Indotestudo elongata
Status endangered

Distinguishing features

Shell considerably depressed, more than twice as long as deep, with flat vertebral region; anterior and posterior margins slightly reverted, strongly serrated in young, feebly in old specimens; shields concentrically striated, except in old specimens; nuchal present (rarely absent), narrow and elongate; supracaudal undivided, more or less incurved; first vertebral usually nearly as long as broad in the adult, the others broader than long and nearly as broad as the costals. Plastron large, truncate anteriorly, deeply notched posteriorly; suture between the pectoral shields as long as or longer than that between the humerals; suture between the gulars as long as or a little shorter than that between the pectorals; anals forming a very short suture, or entirely separated by the anal notch; axillary and inguinal moderate. Head moderate; a pair of large praefrontal shields, usually followed by a nearly equally large frontal; beak feebly hooked, tricuspid; alveolar ridge of upper jaw short and rather feeble. Anterior face of fore limbs with moderate, unequal-sized, imbricate scales, which are largest towards the outer side; no enlarged tubercles on the thighs; tail ending in a claw-like horny tubercle. Carapace and plastron greenish yellow, each shield with an irregular black spot or blotch, which may occupy its greater portion, or may be much broken up or indistinct. (Wikipedia)

Size

  • Up to 30 cm (Length of specimen)

Synonyms

Distribution and habitat preferences

The species is found in Nepal, Bangladesh, India (Jalpaiguri, East Bengal, and Singhbhum in Bihar), Burma (or Myanmar), Laos, Thailand (incl. Phuket), Cambodia, Vietnam, W Malaysia, S China. (Wikipedia)

Diet

Their diet is principally vegetables and edible leaves, however they also consume meat, snails, eggs and other food types. (Wikipedia)

Web resources