Bell's hinge-back tortoise (''Kinixys belliana''), also known commonly as Bell's eastern hinged tortoise, 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 ...

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Testudinidae. The species is native to central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It has the hinge that characterizes all tortoises in the genus ''

Kinixys ''Kinixys'' is a genus of turtles in the family Testudinidae. The genus was erected by Thomas Bell in 1827. The species in the genus ''Kinixys'' are native to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar and commonly known as hinged tortoises or hinge-ba ...

''. There are no recognized

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

Etymology

Both the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''belliana'', and the common name are in honor of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Thomas Bell.

Description

Bell's hinge-back tortoise is a medium-sized light brown tortoise. They can grow up to 22 cm. On the back of its shell, the tortoise has a 90 degree hinge which, when closed, can protect its rear legs and tail from predators. This broad band of flexible connective tissue is located between the 4th and 5th costals and the 7th and 8th peripherals in adults. The scutes on its slightly domed and elongated shell typically have a radiating pattern of dark patches, though these can fade. Adult males have a concave belly. Most Bell's hinge-backs have five claws on each forefoot.

Distribution and habitat

In its habitat, Bell's hinge-back tortoise favours tropical and sub-tropical

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

s of

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. It was traditionally considered to be the most common and widespread hinge-back tortoise, found throughout a large part of

such as in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and down to

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. However, a revision of the species advocated by Kindler et al. (2012) restricted it only to the central African populations, ranging from

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

Diet

Bell's hinge-back tortoise is an omnivore, with a very varied diet consisting mainly of a range of different plants, but also including insects and other meat. It feeds on

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

twigs A twig is a thin, often short, branch of a tree or bush. The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as are the abscission scars where the leaves have fallen away. The color, texture, and patterning of the twig bark are ...

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particula ...

earthworms An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

snails A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastrop ...

tadpoles A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in ...

and other small invertebrates.

Threats and conservation

In its natural habitat, its predators are

leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...

and

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

s. Currently it is mainly threatened by widespread collection from the wild for the illegal international trade in the species. It is also collected by local peoples for food and human population growth in the area is putting pressure on the species. Human-induced fire is also a threat. Its shells are used as

musical instruments A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

by the priests of the Oroko and other peoples of southwestern Cameroon to accompany religious incantations. As of March 22, 2000, the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

has banned importation of the Bell's hinge-back tortoise,

leopard tortoise The leopard tortoise (''Stigmochelys pardalis'') is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Stigmochelys'', althou ...

and the

African spurred tortoise The African spurred tortoise (''Centrochelys sulcata''), also called the sulcata tortoise, is a species of tortoise inhabiting the southern edge of the Sahara desert in Africa. It is the largest mainland species of tortoise in the world, and the ...

Subspecies

are currently recognized as being valid. Formerly the following subspecies were recognized: *''K. b. belliana'' – Bell's hinge-back *''K. b. domerguei'' – Madagascan hinge-back *''K. b. nogueyi'' – western hinge-back *''K. b. zombensis'' – southeastern hinge-back Kindler et al. (2012) raised the subspecies ''K. b. zombensis'' (which they considered a senior synonym of ''K. b. domerguei'') and ''K. b. nogueyi'' to the ranks of species, respectively ''

Kinixys zombensis ''Kinixys'' is a genus of turtles in the family Testudinidae. The genus was erected by Thomas Bell in 1827. The species in the genus ''Kinixys'' are native to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar and commonly known as hinged tortoises or hinge-ba ...

'' and ''

Kinixys nogueyi ''Kinixys'' is a genus of turtles in the family Testudinidae. The genus was erected by Thomas Bell in 1827. The species in the genus ''Kinixys'' are native to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar and commonly known as hinged tortoises or hinge-ba ...

''. ''K. b. domerguei'' is now treated as subspecies of ''Kinixys zombensis'' (i.e., ''Kinixys zombensis domerguei'').

Parasites of hinge-back tortoises

''Kinixys'' tortoises play host to a number of ectoparasites (external) and endoparasites (internal) A survey (by Alan Probert & Clive Humphreys) of mixed captive ''K. spekii'' and ''K. belliana'' (mostly ''K. spekii'') in Zimbabwe showed that ticks (Arachnida) and roundworms (Nematoda) of genera ''Angusticium'', ''Atractis'' and ''Tachygontria'' infect these tortoises. This has been reported by others as well. However, some of the tiny roundworms (photographed under SEM) are very likely new species and as yet remain undescribed.

References

*Smylie, A
''Kinixys'' (Hinged-Back Tortoises)
Gulf Coast Turtle and Tortoise Society. *Hingeback Central

;Bibliography * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1529918 Kinixys Turtles of Africa Reptiles of Angola Vertebrates of Burundi Reptiles of the Central African Republic Reptiles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Vertebrates of Eritrea Reptiles of Ethiopia Reptiles of Kenya Vertebrates of Rwanda Reptiles of Somalia Reptiles of South Sudan Reptiles of Tanzania Reptiles of Uganda Reptiles described in 1831 Taxa named by John Edward Gray