Homopus
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''Homopus'' is a genus of tiny
tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...
s in the family
Testudinidae Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like ot ...
, endemic to
southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
. Three species formerly included in ''Homopus'' were reclassified into the genus ''
Chersobius ''Chersobius'' is a genus of tiny tortoises in the family Testudinidae, endemic to southern Africa. The genus includes the smallest tortoises in the world. All three species were previously assigned to the genus ''Homopus''. Naming As a group, ...
'', leaving two remaining as ''Homopus'': the common padloper ('' H. areolatus'') and the greater padloper ('' H. femoralis'').


Naming

As a group, the closely related species in ''Homopus'' and ''Chersobius'' are commonly known in Europe and Africa as padlopers (originally meaning "path-walkers" in
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
), due to their habit of making tiny pathways through vegetation. In other parts of the world, such as the United States, they are known as Cape tortoises.


Distribution

The genus is indigenous and endemic to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.


Species

The genus contains these species:


Conservation and captivity

They are threatened by
habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
, traffic on roads,
overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...
, and poaching for the pet trade. Another threat comes from
introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
, such as domestic dogs and pigs. ''H. areolatus'', unlike ''H. femoralis'', adapts well to captivity, as its diet is not highly specialized.Corton, M., , World Chelonian Trust (retrieved August 20, 2013). The other ''Homopus'' and ''Chersobius'' species do not generally survive well in captivity unless some effort is made to supply them with their natural food, that is, endemic plants from the Cape/Karoo regions. Many are taken from their natural habitat each year, and subsequently die as a result, as they do not readily adapt to typical captive diets and environment change. However, they can be very hardy in captivity, and most problems with captive care are caused by faulty nutrition, high humidity, or inadequate husbandry.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1054788 Turtles of Africa Reptiles of South Africa Turtle genera Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxonomy articles created by Polbot