Malacochersus Lindholm 1929, Zool. Anz. Leipzig 81(11/12):285.
TYPE SPECIES: Testudo tornieri Siebenrock 1903, by original designation.
DISTRIBUTION: As for the single species.
COMMENT: Discussed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:283-286.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: KE, TZ.
COMMON NAME: Pancake tortoises.


Image of pancake tortoise
Malacochersus tornieri (Siebenrock 1903). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Malacochersus tornieri (Siebenrock 1903), Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math. Naturwiss. Kl. 112(1):443.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo tornieri.
TYPE: Holotype: ZMB 11740, destroyed in World War II.
TYPE LOCALITY: "bei Bussia [=Busisi] am Victoria Nyanza. . .," Tanzania.
DISTRIBUTION: Tanzania and western Kenya.
COMMENT: Includes Testudo procterae Loveridge 1923, Proc. Zool. Soc. London :928. Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:286-294.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:113-114, and listed as Insufficiently Known. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.007.001:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: KE, TZ.
COMMON NAME: Pancake tortoise, African pancake tortoise, Tornier's tortoise, Softshell tortoise, Crevice tortoise.


Manouria Gray 1852, Proc. Zool. Soc. London :133.
TYPE SPECIES: Manouria fusca Gray 1852 (=Testudo emys Schlegel and Müller 1844), by monotypy.
DISTRIBUTION: Eastern India to Vietnam, Malaya, Sumatra, and Borneo.
COMMENT: See comments under Geochelone and Testudinidae.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BD, BU, KH, ID, IN, LA, MY, TH, VN.
COMMON NAME: Brown tortoises.

Image of Asian brown tortoise
Manouria emys (Schlegel and Müller). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Manouria emys (Schlegel and Müller 1844), In: Temminck, Verh. Nat. Gesch. Nederl. Bezitt. Schlidp. :34.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo emys.
TYPES: 5 Syntypes: RMNH 3808, 6005, 6030, and 17967, and MNHN 9422. Lectotype: RMNH 3808, designated by Hoogmoed and Crumly 1984, Zool. Med. Leiden 58:251.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Sumatra, te midden der hooge bergbosschen, aan de zuidzijde van den Goenung Singalang, in de groote vallei, door welke de rivier Aneh, uit de zoogenaamde bovenlanden naar de westelijke zeekust afstroomt."
DISTRIBUTION: Assam, India to southern Vietnam, the Malay peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Smith 1931, Fauna British India Rept. Amph. 1:144-145; Bourret 1941, Tort. Indochine 38:189-191; and Taylor 1970, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 49:130-132. Nutaphand 1979, Turt. Thailand :193-195 (see also pages 31, 55, 84-85, 102, 142-143,216), recognized Testudo (Manouria) nutapundi Reimann as distinct. Obst 1983, Zool. Abh. Staatl. Mus. Tierk. 38(15):247-256, showed that Testudo nutapundi was a subspecies of Manouria emys. Hoogmoed and Crumly 1984, Zool. Med. Leiden 58:241-259, suggest that Testudo nutapundi is a junior synonym of Testudo phayrei Blyth 1853.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: M. Hoogmoed.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II (as Geochelone emys). Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:71-73 (as Geochelone emys), and listed as Insufficiently Known. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.003.007:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BD, ID, IN, MY, TH.
COMMON NAME: Burma brown tortoise, Six-footed tortoise, Burmese mountain tortoise, Brown giant tortoise, Asian brown tortoise, Black giant tortoise, Tortue brune de Burma.

Image of impressed tortoise
Manouria impressa (Günther 1882). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Manouria impressa (Günther 1882), Proc. Zool. Soc. London :343.
ORIGINAL NAME: Geoemyda impressa.
TYPE: Holotype: BMNH 1947.3.5.7.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Siam" (=Thailand).
DISTRIBUTION: The Malay Peninsula to Burma, and Yunnan Province and Hainan Island, People's Republic of China.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Smith 1931, Fauna British India Rept. Amph. 1:145-146; Bourret 1941, Tort. Indochine 38:191-192 (as Testudo impressa); Taylor 1970, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 49:132-135; and Obst 1983, Zool. Abh. Staatl. Mus. Tierk. 38(15):247-256.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: Huang C.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:81-82 as Geochelone impressa, and listed as Insufficiently Known. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.003.010:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BU, KH, LA, MY, TH, VN.
COMMON NAME: Impressed tortoise.


Psammobates Fitzinger 1835, Ann. Wien. Mus. Naturgesch. 1:108, 113, 122.
TYPE SPECIES: Testudo geometrica Linnaeus 1758, by subsequent designation of Fitzinger 1843, Synops. Rept. 1:29.
DISTRIBUTION: Southern Africa.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:294-342.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BW, ZA, NA.
COMMON NAME: African starred tortoise.

Image of geometric tortoise
Psammobates geometricus (Linnaeus 1758). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Psammobates geometricus (Linnaeus 1758), Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1:199.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo geometrica.
TYPE: Lectotype: Hoogmoed and Crumly 1984, Zool. Med. Leiden 58(15)254-257, designated as lectotype the illustration in Piso 1658, :105, 106. In: Piso. Indiae Utriusque Nat. Med. See also comments below.
TYPE LOCALITY: Asia.
DISTRIBUTION: Southwestern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa.
COMMENT: Wallin 1977, Zoon 5:77-78, demonstrated that the Linnaean type of Testudo geometrica, ZMUU 20 (cited incorrectly as ZIUS by Iverson 1986, Checklist Turt. World :165) is actually a Geochelone elegans (Schoepf 1795). The designation by Hoogmoed and Crumly 1984, Zool. Med. Leiden 58(15)254-257, of a lectotype for the species presently known as Psammobates geometricus eliminates the threat of replacing the name for the African geometric tortoise with the name long applied to the Indian star tortoise. Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:319-324; Rau 1971, Salamandra 7(3, 4):123-136; Greig and Burdett 1976, Zoologica Africana 11(2):252, 264.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: M. Hoogmoed.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix I; U.S.A. Endangered Species Act: Endangered. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:115-117, and listed as Vulnerable. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.008.001:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: ZA.
COMMON NAME: Geometric tortoise.

Image of African serrated star tortoise
Psammobates oculiferus (Kuhl 1820). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Psammobates oculiferus (Kuhl 1820), Beitr. Zool. Anat. :77.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo oculifera.
TYPE: Holotype: ZMB 223; destroyed in World War II.
TYPE LOCALITY: "vom Cap dahin gebracht worden," Republic of South Africa.
DISTRIBUTION: Namibia, Botswana, and Republic of South Africa, north of the Orange River and south of the Cunene River and the Namibia-Angola border.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:315-319, and Greig and Burdett 1976, Zoologica Africana 11(2):252-253, 265.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.008.002:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BW, ZA, NA.
COMMON NAME: African serrated star tortoise, African serrated tortoise.

Image of African tent tortoise
Psammobates tentorius (Bell 1828). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Psammobates tentorius (Bell 1828), Zool. J. London 3:420.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo tentoria.
TYPE: Holotype: OUM 8570.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Habitat in Africa?"
DISTRIBUTION: Namibia and Republic of South Africa, from a little north of Walvis Bay to the eastern parts of Cape Province.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:324-342, and Greig and Burdett 1976, Zoologica Africana 11(2):253,266.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980. In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.008.003:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: ZA, NA.
COMMON NAME: African tent tortoise, South African tent tortoise.


Pyxis Bell 1827, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 15:395.
TYPE SPECIES: Pyxis arachnoides Bell 1827, by monotypy.
DISTRIBUTION: Madagascar.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Bour 1981, Bull. Men. Soc. Linn. Lyon 50(4-5):132-144, 154-176, who placed Acinixys in the synonymy of this genus. See also Obst 1978, Zool. Abh. Staatl. Mus. Tierk. 35:31-54, and Obst 1980, Zool. Abh. Staatl. Mus. Tierk. 36:229-232.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MG.
COMMON NAME: Spider tortoises.

Image of spider tortoise
Pyxis arachnoides Bell 1827. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Pyxis arachnoides Bell 1827, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 15:395.
TYPES: 2 Syntypes: OUM 1092 and 8528; OUM 13a (=1092) designated lectotype by Bour 1978, Bull. Soc. Et. Sci. Anjou, N.S. 10:153.
TYPE LOCALITY: Unknown; designated as "Soalara (Baie de Saint-Augustin), sud-ouest de Madagascar" by Bour 1978, Bull. Soc. Etud. Sci. Anjou, N.S. 10:153.
DISTRIBUTION: Southwestern Madagascar, from the Manombo River south to Soalara and Anakas.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Bour 1978, Bull. Soc. Etud. Sci. Anjou, N.S. 10:141-154.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:119-120, and listed as Indeterminate. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.009.001:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MG.
COMMON NAME: Spider tortoise, Madagascan spider tortoise, Pyxide arachnoide.

Image of flat-backed spider tortoise
Pyxis planicauda (Grandidier 1867). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Pyxis planicauda (Grandidier 1867), Rev. Mag. Zool. Paris (2)19:233.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo planicauda.
TYPE: Holotype: MNHN 9373.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Mouroundava, ouest de Madagascar," restricted by Bour 1981, Bull. Men. Soc. Linn. Lyon 50(4-5):165, to "Morondava, province de Tulear, Madagascar (puirrait etre restrainte a la foret d'Andranomena)."
DISTRIBUTION: Western Madagascar, known for certain only from immediate vicinity of the type locality, ca. 20.5°S Lat., 44°E Long.
COMMENT: Transferred from the monotypic genus Acinixys by Bour 1981, Bull. Men. Soc. Linn. Lyon 50(4-5):132-144, 154-176; see comment under Pyxis.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II (as Acinixys planicauda). Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:121-122, and listed as Indeterminate. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.001.001:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MG.
COMMON NAME: Flat-backed spider tortoise, Madagascar flat-shelled tortoise, Madagascar flat-backed tortoise, Malagasy flat-tailed tortoise, Tortue à queue platte.


Testudo Linnaeus 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1:197.
TYPE SPECIES: Testudo graeca Linnaeus 1758, by subsequent designation of Fitzinger 1843, Syst. Rept. 1:29.
DISTRIBUTION: Southern Europe and north Africa to southwestern Asia.
COMMENT: Subgenera defined by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:258; Khozatsky and Mlynarski 1966, Bull. Acad. Polonaise Sci. 14(2):123-125; and Auffenberg 1974, Bull. Florida State Mus. Biol. Sci. 18(3):121-251, and noted here in the species accounts are not accepted by some authors. Obst and Meusel 1963, Landschildkr. Europas :1-52, reviewed European species.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: AF, BG, DZ, EG, ES, FR, GR, IL, IR, IT, JO, LB, LY, MA, PK, RO, SU, SY, TN, TR, YU.
COMMON NAME: Eurasian tortoises.

Image of Greek tortoise
Testudo graeca Linnaeus 1758. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Testudo graeca Linnaeus 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1:198.
TYPE: Holotype: The life-sized colored figure in Plate 204 of Edwards 1751, Nat. Hist. Birds Anim. Quadrap. Rept., Pt. IV, according to Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115(6):264-265.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Africa," according to Linnaeus 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1:352; however, the caption of the holotype, Plate 204 of Edwards 1751, Nat. Hist. Birds Anim. Quadr. Rept., Pt. IV, reads "Loc. Santa Cruz in West Barbary" (=old fort Santa Cruz near Oran, Algeria, according to Strauch 1862, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Pétersbourg (7)7(5):67). Mertens and Müller 1928, Abh. Senckenb. Naturf. Ges. 41:22, designated it as "Santa Cruz, in der westberberei, Nordafrika".
DISTRIBUTION: Southern Spain (including islands of Ibiza, Formentera, and Mallorca), and from Morocco east along the coast of north Africa to Iran, and from Yugoslavia and Romania south and east to southern Turkmenestan, U.S.S.R.; introduced into southern France, Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia.
COMMENT: Subgenus Testudo. See Wermuth 1958, Senckenb. Biol. 39:149-153. Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115(6):261-276; Lambert 1983, Zool. J. Linn. Soc. London 79:149-179; and Bour 1987, Rev. Française Aquariol. 13(4):111-113.
CONTRIBUTOR:
C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: R. Honegger.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. Berne Convention: Appendix II. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:123-125, and listed as Vulnerable. Honegger 1981, Handb. Rept. Amph. Europas Suppl. :96-100, assayed them for the Council of Europe and listed Testudo graeca graeca as Vulnerable and protected by law in France and Spain, and Testudo graeca ibera as Indeterminate and protected by law in Bulgaria and Romania. Bannikov 1978, :160, In: Borodin, U.S.S.R. Red Data Book, listed the Russian population of the subspecies ibera as rare and rapidly diminishing in numbers. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.010.001:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BG, DZ, EG, ES, FR, GR, IL, IR, IT, JO, LB, LY, MA, RO, SU, SY, TN, TR, YU.
COMMON NAME: Greek tortoise, Spur-thighed tortoise, Moorish tortoise, Tortuga mora, Tortue mauresque, Testuggine greca, Testuggine moresca.

Image of Hermann's tortoise
Testudo hermanni Gmelin 1789. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Testudo hermanni Gmelin 1789, In: Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 13, 1:1041.
TYPE: Holotype: MZUS 121.
TYPE LOCALITY: Not stipulated; designated "Collobrières, massif des Maures, Var, France," by Bour 1987, Rev. Française Aquariol. 13(4):116, after comparing measurements of the holotype.
DISTRIBUTION: Southern Europe, Spain (scattered populations) and France east through the coastal plain to Bulgaria and European Turkey, including islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Elba, Lampedusa, Pantelleria, Corfu, and Baleares.
COMMENT: Subgenus Testudo. See Wermuth 1952, Senckenbergiana 33(1-3):162, and Bour 1987, Rev. Française Aquariol. 13(4):114-117.
<B>CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: R. Honegger.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. Berne Convention: Appendix II. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:127-131, and listed as Vulnerable. Honegger 1981, Handb. Rept. Amph. Europas Suppl. :99-102, assayed them for the Council of Europe and listed Testudo hermanni hermanni as Indeterminate and legally protected in Bulgaria and Romania, and Testudo hermanni robertmertensi as Rare and protected by law in France and Spain. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.010.002:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BG, ES, FR, GR, IT, RO, TR, YU.
COMMON NAME: Hermann's tortoise, Greek tortoise, Tortuga mediterranea, Tortue d'Hermann, Testuggine di Hermann, Testuggine comune.

Image of steppe tortoise
Testudo horsfieldii Gray 1844. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Testudo horsfieldii Gray 1844, Cat. Tort. Croc. Amphisb. British Mus. :7.
TYPE: Holotype: BMNH 1947.3.4.3.
TYPE LOCALITY: "India, Affghanistan" [sic].
DISTRIBUTION: Kazakhstan, U.S.S.R., from the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea to Lake Zaysan; northern Iran; Afghanistan; Pakistan; and Xinjiang Province, People's Republic of China.
COMMENT: Subgenus Agrionemys (recognized as a monotypic genus by Obst 1986, Turt., tort. terrapins :210). Reviewed by Smith 1931, Fauna British India Rept. Amph. 1:146-147.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: Huang C.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.010.003:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: AF, IR, PK, SU.
COMMON NAME: Steppe tortoise, Horsfield's tortoise, Afghan tortoise, Four-toed tortoise, Central Asian tortoise.

Image of Kleinmann's tortoise
Testudo kleinmanni Lortet 1883. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Testudo kleinmanni Lortet 1883, Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Lyon 3:188.
TYPES: 3 Syntypes: MNHN 9839, USNM 10979, SMF 7810; SMF 7810 designated lectotype by Mertens 1967, Senckenb. Biol. 48A:52.
TYPE LOCALITY: "dans le sables de la basse Egypt, a surtout dans le environs d'Alexandrie," Egypt.
DISTRIBUTION: The Mediterranean coast from western Libya to southern Israel.
COMMENT: Subgenus Pseudotestudo. Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115(6):276-283.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: R. Honegger.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:133-136, and listed as Indeterminate. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.010.004:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: EG, IL, LY.
COMMON NAME: Kleinmann's tortoise, Egyptian tortoise.

Image of Marginated tortoise
Testudo marginata Schoepf 1792. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Testudo marginata Schoepf 1792, Hist. Testud. Icon. Illustr. :52.
TYPE: Not stated; MZUS 143 designated lectotype by Bour 1987, Rev. Française Aquariol. 13(4):118.
TYPE LOCALITY: Unknown; designated by Bour 1987, Rev. Française Aquariol. 13(4):121, as "Grèce" based on repeated reference to Greece in the donor's description, and further restricted to "la province de l'Attique, d'où provenait vraisemblablement ce lectotype" [province of Attica, Stereá Eláda].
DISTRIBUTION: Central and southern Greece, including the islands of Corfu, Skiros, and Poros; apparently introduced in Sardinia and Tombola.
COMMENT: Subgenus Testudo. Reviewed by Kock and Storch 1979, Salamandra 15(2):101-105; and Bour 1987, Rev. Française Aquariol. 13(4):118-121.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: R. Honegger.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. Berne Convention: Appendix II. Assayed by Honegger 1981, Handb. Rept. Amph. Europas Suppl. :99-102, for the Council of Europe and listed as Vulnerable. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.010.005:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: GR, IT.
COMMON NAME: Marginated tortoise, Margined tortoise, Testuggine marginata.


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