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Turtles and Tortoises of Madagascar and Adjacent Indian Ocean Islands Pocket Identification Guide of Madagascar and Adjacent Scales  Pelusios Seychellensis

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Turtles and Tortoises of Madagascar and Adjacent Indian Ocean Islands Pocket Identification Guide of Madagascar and Adjacent Scales  Pelusios Seychellensis CHECKLIST CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL Freshwater Turtles Yellow-bellied Mud Turtle Small Tortoises Large/ Medium Tortoises Giant Tortoises Sea Turtles Loggerhead Turtle a Scientific Name Locality Date Pelusios castanoides Caretta caretta TROPICAL POCKET GUIDE SERIES Aldabra Giant Tortoise ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Madagascar Big-headed Turtle Spider Tortoise Radiated Tortoise Green Turtle Dipsochelys dussumieri Reddish-brown Family Podocnemididae Erymnochelys madagascariensis Pyxis arachnoides (3 subsps) Astrochelys radiata Chelonia mydas Large Erymnochelys madagascariensis................................ Turtles and [or Aldabrachelys gigantea] Family Pelomedusidae 2 chin barbels Pelomedusa subrufa.................................................... (All Pelusios) Pelusios castanoides................................................... Tortoises Large yellow Pelusios subniger......................................................... Adjacent Indian Ocean Islands Pocket Identification Guide and of Madagascar Tortoises and Turtles of Madagascar and Adjacent scales Pelusios seychellensis................................................. Indian Ocean Islands 1 chin barbel Family Testudinidae Plastron is Pocket Identification Guide Very large pale yellow Pyxis arachnoides........................................................ head Pyxis planicauda.......................................................... 5 claws Astrochelys radiata...................................................... Slight serration 5 costals The largest freshwater turtle Astrochelys yniphora.................................................... Most common of Kinixys belliana............................................................ East African Black Mud Turtle the Giant Tortoises Pelusios subniger Dipsochelys dussumieri................................................ Olive Ridley Turtle Dipsochelys hololissa................................................... 4 claws Plastral hinge (mobility Lepidochelys olivacea Dipsochelys arnoldi...................................................... One pair of varies by subspecies). pre-frontal Family Cheloniidae See text. Ploughshare Tortoise head scales Greenish-grey Eretmochelys imbricata................................................ Small Astrochelys yniphora Seychelles Giant Tortoise Chelonia mydas............................................................ Small gray Dipsochelys hololissa Caretta caretta.............................................................. scales [or Aldabrachelys hololissa] Lepidochelys olivacea.................................................. Key to map arrows No plastral hinge Family Dermochelyidae Current range Plastron is dark with Dermochelys coriacea.................................................. Introduced Helmeted Turtle pale yellow marking Historic range Pelomedusa subrufa 5 claws 4 costals Carapacial scutes of turtles Hawksbill Turtle Thomas E. Leuteritz, Justin Gerlach, m m m m Seychelles Mud Turtle Extended gular 5 or more costals m m Pelusios seychellensis Pattern on plastron Eretmochelys imbricata Russell A. Mittermeier, Anders G.J. Rhodin, m m varies by subspecies Unlikely to be seen Peter Paul van Dijk, Richard Lewis, m m marginal 2 chin barbels Herilala Randriamahazo v v v v nuchal Flat-tailed Tortoise Leatherback Turtle Pyxis planicauda Dermochelys coriacea Series Editors vertebral 8-10 large c Bell’s Hinge-back Tortoise 7 longitudinal Russell A. Mittermeier & Anthony Rylands c c transversally Arnold’s Giant Tortoise 4 costals ridges widened scales Kinixys belliana costal Dipsochelys arnoldi Illustrated by Carapace hinge [or Aldabrachelys arnoldi] Plastron is dark with Stephen D. Nash & César Landazábal Plastral scutes of turtles Head 5 claws pale yellow marking 5 claws Layout by Two pairs of Doan Nguyen pre-frontal head scales intergular No scutes anal on carapace No plastral hinge abdominal gular femoral humeral i i pectoral No plastral hinge inguinal inframarginal axillary Plastral hinge for all Pelusios There are over 300 living species of turtles in the world Madagascar and the Seychelles. They have been intro- pace length up to 27 cm. The carapace is olive, black- FAMILY TESTUDINIDAE Astrochelys: medium-sized to large Malagasy Kinixys: Hinge-back Tortoises numbers some 100,000 individuals. There are also intro- FAMILY CHELONIIDAE Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) INTRODUCED SPECIES today. They belong to the class Reptilia (Reptiles). With- duced on Mauritius. Depending on the species, they can ish-brown, or yellowish, with slightly serrated posterior Tortoises duced populations on other islands in the Seychelles as (Loggerhead Turtle) in the reptiles they form the order known as Testudines be found in rivers, lakes, floodplains, and even in roadside marginal scutes. The hinged plastron is yellow, as the The Testudinidae Batsch, 1788 is the family of all the liv- Species of the genus Kinixys range from 15.5 cm (K. well as in the Mascarenes, where it is being introduced as All marine turtles, with the exception of the Leatherback (Turtles). The Testudines are made up of two suborders: puddles. All pelomedusid turtle species are characterized common name suggests. The head is blackish-brown with ing tortoises. Tortoises are terrestrial, have elephant-like This genus is endemic to Madagascar and accounts for the natalensis) to 32.3 cm (K. erosa). The genus is found in an ecological replacement for some of the extinct Mas- Turtle Dermochelys coriacea, belong to the family Chelo- Identification: Loggerheads reach 1.2 m carapace length, the Pleurodira (Side-necked Turtles) and the Cryptodira by possessing five claws on each hind foot and a large a slight yellow vermiculation and the neck and limbs are hind legs, and a dome-shaped carapace. There are four two largest species of tortoises occurring there (A. radiata western, central and southern Africa as well as on Mada- carene tortoises (genus Cylindraspis). Tortoises have been niidae Oppel, 1811. In this family there are six living spe- and can weigh up to 250 kg. It has a robust head, a distinc- Red-eared Slider (Hidden-necked Turtles) with a total of 13 families. This intergular scute that completely separates the gular scutes yellow. The upper jaw has two cusps. The forearms bear genera (Astrochelys, Dipsochelys [both formerly Geoche- and A. yniphora). They have highly domed carapaces and gascar. There are four to six recognized species. Only one released in the Francois Leguat Reserve on Rodrigues Is- cies, four of which inhabit the Western Indian Ocean. tive arrangement of five costal scutes and five vertebrals, and Trachemys scripta elegans pocket guide covers Madagascar and surrounding islands, on the plastron. All species in this region possess one pair large transversely-widened scales. The Yellow-bellied lone], Pyxis, and Kinixys), with five species on Madagas- are geographically distinct, occurring in the southwest of these, K. belliana, occurs outside of mainland Africa; it land, and re-wilding studies are currently being carried its shell and head are characteristically reddish-brown. Re- and describes the turtles and tortoises from five families of barbels on the chin. Mud Turtle comprises two subspecies, P. c. castanoides car, two in the granitic Seychelles, and one on Aldabra. and the northwest of the country respectively. occurs in Madagascar, and it is widely believed that this is out on Round Island. Conservation Status: The IUCN Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) marks: The loggerhead is found in tropical, subtropical and that are found in the region: Podocnemididae and Pelo- and P. c. intergularis, distinguished largely by differences Carapace lengths of these species range from 13 cm in the result of human introduction. The species of this genus Red List of Threatened Species classifies the Aldabra Gi- (Green Turtle) sometimes in temperate waters of all oceans. From October medusidae (Side-neck Turtles), Testudinidae (Tortoises), Pelomedusa: The Helmeted Turtle in the seams between the long narrow intergular and gu- Pyxis planicauda (the smallest at 670 g) to 138 cm for Astrochelys (= Geochelone) radiata (Shaw, 1802) are called hinge-backed because they are the only extant ant Tortoise as Vulnerable. to December it breeds in small numbers in two sites in the Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles), and Dermochelyidae (Leather- lar scutes; in P. c. castanoides the intergular scute has Dipsochelys hololissa (the largest at 304 kg). All tortoises (Radiated Tortoise) turtles to have a moveable hinge on their carapace. Identification: The Green Turtle reaches 1.3 m carapace south of Madagascar (some 100 nests per year), and it is back Sea Turtles). This genus with just a single species and occurs from Sé- a straight contact seam with each flanking gular scute, in Madagascar are found along the western coast, from Dipsochelys hololissa (Gunther, 1877) length, and can weigh up to 230 kg. It is easily identified by occasionally seen in the waters of the Seychelles. The jaws négal east to Ethiopia and south through South Africa. It while in P. c. intergularis the seam is drawn into an elon- the extreme north to the southernmost tip of the island. Identification: This tortoise has a highly domed carapace Kinixys belliana (Gray, 1831) (aka – Aldabrachelys hololissa) the combination of four pairs of costal scutes and a single are powerful, enabling it to crush mollusk shells. It also eats FAMILY PODOCNEMIDIDAE is also found in southern Saudi Arabia and southern
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