Sulawesi tortoise or Forsten's tortoise (''Indotestudo forstenii'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
tortoise
Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like oth ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Testudinidae. Is native to
sulawesi island, indonesia.
Forsten's tortoise is one of three tortoise species placed in the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''
Indotestudo
''Indotestudo'' is a genus of tortoises in the family Testudinidae. The genus is native to South and Southeast Asia. The three species in the genus are all threatened
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fung ...
'', the others being the
elongated tortoise
The elongated tortoise (''Indotestudo elongata'') is a species of tortoise found in Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia.
Description
Shell considerably depressed, more than twice as long as deep, with flat vertebral region; anterior and post ...
(''I. elongata''), and the
Travancore tortoise (''I. travancorica'').
Etymology
The
specific name, ''forstenii'', is in honor of
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
botanist Eltio Alegondas Forsten
Eltio Alegondas Forsten (12 July 1811, Middelburg – 1843, Ambon Island) was a Dutch naturalist.
He studied medicine at Leiden, obtaining his degree in 1836 with a thesis on '' Cedrela febrifuga'', titled "''Dissertatio botanico-pharmaceuti ...
.
Geographic range
''Indotestudo forsteni'' can be found on
Sulawesi Island of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, and its nearby islands such as
Halmahera
Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
Ha ...
island. In Sulawesi, it is found in the central and northern parts of the island.
In
North Sulawesi
North Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the Minahasa Peninsula of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. It borders the Philippine province of Davao Occidental and Socc ...
, it is found in
Mount Boliahutu
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
and around
Buol, while in
Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi ( Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 fo ...
, it is found in
Santigi,
Morowali Reserve
Morowali Regency is a regency of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 5,472 km2 and the districts now within the regency had a combined population of 102,228 at the 2010 Census;Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. the r ...
,
Palu
Palu, which is officially known as the City of Palu ( Indonesian: ''Kota Palu''), is the capital and largest city of Central Sulawesi. Palu is located on the northwestern coast of Sulawesi and borders Donggala Regency to the north and west, Par ...
Valley,
Kulawi Valley, Bora Village near
Gimpu, and along the western border of
Lore Lindu National Park
Lore Lindu National Park is a protected area of forest on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, in the province of Central Sulawesi. The Indonesian national park is 2,180 km2 covering both lowland and montane forests (200 to 2,610 meters ab ...
.
Harvest sustainability of Sulawesi tortoise ''Indotestudo forstenii'' in Indonesia
/ref>
Taxonomy
''Indotestudo travancorica
The Travancore tortoise (''Indotestudo travancorica'') is a large forest tortoise growing up to in length. The species was first described by George Albert Boulenger in 1907. It primarily feeds on grasses and herbs. It also feeds on mollusc ...
'', found in the Western Ghats of India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, has been previously considered a synonym of ''Indotestudo forstenii'', but is now treated as a separate species.
Gallery
File:Baby Indotestudo Forstenii.jpg, Baby Forsten's tortoise
See also
*Sulawesi forest turtle
The Sulawesi forest turtle (''Leucocephalon yuwonoi'') is a critically endangered species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is monotypic within the genus ''Leucocephalon''. It is endemic to Sulawesi in Indonesia.
Etymology
The s ...
(''Leucocephalon yuwonoi'' ) – another threatened turtle endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to Sulawesi, Indonesia.
References
Further reading
*
* Boulenger GA (1907). "A new tortoise from Travancore". ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' 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 C.H. (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 & Müller) (Testudinita: Reptilia) in Kerala". ''Cobra'' 34 (Oct.-Dec.): 19–20.
External links
*
*http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Indotestudo_forsteni1.jpg
*http://studbooks.org
Indotestudo
Reptiles of Indonesia
Reptiles described in 1845
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