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Radiated tortoise
Tsimanampetsotsa National Park, Madagascar
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix I (CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Astrochelys
Species:	A. radiata
Binomial name
Astrochelys radiata (Shaw, 1802)
Synonyms
Testudo coui Daudin, 1801 (nomen oblitum) Testudo radiata Shaw, 1802 Psammobates radiatus Agassiz, 1857 Testudo desertorum Grandidier, 1869 Asterochelys radiata Gray, 1873 Testudo radiata Siebenrock, 1909 Testudo hypselonota Bourret, 1941 Geochelone radiata Loveridge & Williams, 1957 Astrochelys radiata Bour, 1985

The radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) is a tortoise species in the family Testudinidae. Although this species is native to and most abundant in southern Madagascar, it can also be found in the rest of this island, and has been introduced to the islands of Réunion and Mauritius. It is a very long-lived species, with recorded lifespans of up to 188 years. These tortoises are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN, mainly because of the destruction of their habitat and because of poaching.

Description

Adults typically have a carapace length of 26 to 38 centimetres (10 to 15 in) and weigh 2.5 to 8.8 kilograms (5.5 to 19.4 lb). The largest individuals tend to be males.

This species has the basic "tortoise" body shape, which consists of the high-domed carapace, a blunt head, and elephantine feet. The legs, feet, and head are yellow except for a variably sized black patch on top of the head.

The carapace of the radiated tortoise is brilliantly marked with yellow lines radiating from the center of each dark plate of the shell, hence its name. This "star" pattern is more finely detailed and intricate than the normal pattern of other star-patterned tortoise species, such as Geochelone elegans of India. The radiated tortoise is also larger than G. elegans, and the scutes of the carapace are smooth, and not raised up into a bumpy, pyramidal shape as is commonly seen in the latter species. Sexual dimorphism is slight. Compared to females, male radiated tortoises usually have longer tails and the notches beneath their tails are more noticeable.

Lifespan

The species is long-lived. The oldest radiated tortoise ever recorded with certainty was Tu'i Malila, which died at an estimated age of 188.

Range and distribution

Radiated tortoises occur naturally only in the extreme southern and southwestern part of the island of Madagascar. They have also been introduced to the nearby islands of Reunion and Mauritius. They prefer dry regions of brush, thorn (Diderae) forests, and woodlands of southern Madagascar.

As the radiated tortoises are herbivores, grazing constitutes 80–90% of their diets, while they also eat fruits and succulent plants. A favorite food in the wild is the Opuntia cactus. They are known to graze regularly in the same area, thus keeping the vegetation in that area closely trimmed. They seem to prefer new growth rather than mature growth because of the high-protein, low-fiber content.

Reproduction

Males first mate upon attaining lengths of about 12 in (31 cm); females may need to be a few inches longer. The male begins this fairly noisy procedure by bobbing his head and smelling the female's hind legs and cloaca. In some cases, the male may lift the female up with the front edge of his shell to keep her from moving away.

The male then proceeds to mount the female from the rear while striking the anal region of his plastron against the female's carapace. Hissing and grunting by the male during mating is common. This is a very dangerous procedure and cases have been recorded where the female's shell has cracked and pierced the vaginal and anal cavities. Females lay from three to twelve eggs in a previously excavated hole 6–8 in (15–20 cm) deep, and then depart.

Incubation is quite long in this species, lasting usually between 5 and 8 months. Juveniles are between 1.2 and 1.6 inches (3.2 and 4 cm) upon hatching. Unlike the yellow coloration of the adults, the juveniles are a white to an off-white shade. Juveniles attain the high-domed carapace soon after hatching.

Conservation

These tortoises are critically endangered due to habitat loss, being poached for food, and being overexploited in the pet trade. It is listed on CITES Appendix I, commercial trade in wild-caught specimens is illegal (permitted only in exceptional licensed circumstances). However, due to the poor economic conditions of Madagascar, many of the laws are largely ignored.

No estimates of wild populations are available, but their numbers are declining, and many authorities see the potential for a rapid decline to extinction in the wild. In the North American studbook, 332 specimens are listed as participating in captive-breeding programs such as the Species Survival Plan. Captive breeding has shown great promise as in the captive-breeding program for the radiated tortoise at the New York Zoological Society's Wildlife Survival Center. In 2005, the Wildlife Survival Center was closed, and the radiated tortoise captive-breeding program was continued with the inception of the Behler Chelonian Center, the Turtle Conservancy's southern California conservation breeding center.

In March 2013, smugglers were arrested after carrying a single bag containing 21 radiated tortoises and 54 angonoka tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora) through Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand.

On 20 March 2016, the customs officials at Mumbai airport seized 146 tortoises from the mishandled baggage of a Nepal citizen. This bag was said to belong to a transit passenger, who arrived from Madagascar and flew to Kathmandu, leaving this bag behind. Of the 146 tortoises, 139 were radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) and seven were Angonoka tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora). Two radiated tortoises were found dead with broken shells.

On 12 June 2016, it was reported that 72 radiated tortoises and six angonoka tortoises had gone missing from a breeding facility in Thailand.

On 20 April 2018, more than 10,000 radiated tortoises were found in a home in Toliara. In total, the house contained 9,888 live radiated tortoises and 180 dead ones. Rescuers transported them to Le Village Des Tortues ("Turtle Village"), a private wildlife rehabilitation facility in Ifaty, 18 miles north of Toliara. A week after their discovery, 574 tortoises had died from either dehydration or infection. Three suspects (two men and a woman, the owner of the house) were arrested. The men were in the process of burying dead tortoises on the property when the team arrived.

References

1. ^ Leuteritz, T.; Rioux Paquette, S.; et al. (Madagascar Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Red List Workshop) (2008). "Astrochelys radiata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T9014A12950491. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T9014A12950491.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
3. Fritz Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 267–268. ISSN 1864-0575. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
4. Astrochelys radiata at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 October 2023.
5. Fritz, U.; Bininda-Emonds, O. R. P. (3 July 2007). "When genes meet nomenclature: Tortoise phylogeny and the shifting generic concepts of Testudo and Geochelone". Zoology. 110 (4): 298–307. doi:10.1016/j.zool.2007.02.003. PMID 17611092.
6. Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel (2007). A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar (3rd ed.). Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlags. ISBN 978-3929449037.
7. "EMYSystem Species Page: Geochelone radiata".
8. ^ Egeler, J. (2000). "Astrochelys (Geochelone) radiata". Animal Diversity Web.
9. Leuteritz, T.E.J.; Gantz, D.T. (2013). "Sexual dimorphism in radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata)". In Castellano, C.M.; Rhodin, A.G.J.; Ogle, M.; Mittermeier, R.A.; Randriamahazo, H.; Hudson, R.; Lewis, R.E. (eds.). Turtles on the Brink in Madagascar: Proceedings of two Workshops on the status, conservation, and biology of Malagasy tortoises and freshwater turtles. Chelonian Research Monographs No. 6. Lunenburg, MA, USA: Chelonian Research Foundation. pp. 105–112.
10. Tortoise Believed to Have Been Owned by Darwin Dies at 176 2nd to last paragraph mentions tu'i Malila's age
11. "Madagascar's Radiated Tortoise Could Disappear By 2030". Science 2.0. 27 August 2014.
12. Feuer, Alan (29 December 2004). "After 30 Years of Animal Research, Bronx Zoo to Close Island Preserve". The New York Times.
13. "Turtle Conservancy".
14. "Largest seizure of Critically Endangered Ploughshare Tortoises made in Thailand". Traffic. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
15. "146 tortoises seized at Mumbai airport from a Nepali national". 20 March 2016.
16. Actman, Jani (12 June 2016). "78 Rare Tortoises Stolen from Breeding Center". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
17. "Stench Leads to Home Crawling with Stolen Tortoises—10,000 of Them". 20 April 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018.

Further reading

• Kirkpatrick, David D. The Radiated Tortoise in Reptile & Amphibian Magazine March/April 1992, pages 18–24.
• Radiated Tortoise Fact Sheet. Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Retrieved April 7, 2008.

External links

• Radiated Tortoise
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

v t e Tortoise family
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Subclass: Anapsida Order: Testudines Suborder: Cryptodira Superfamily: Testudinoidea Family: Testudinidae
Genera	Species of the tortoise family
Agrionemys	Russian tortoise
Aldabrachelys	Aldabra giant tortoise (subspecies: A. g. arnoldi †A. g. daudinii A. g. hololissa) †Aldabrachelys abrupta †Aldabrachelys grandidieri
Astrochelys	Angonoka tortoise Radiated tortoise †Astrochelys rogerbouri
Centrochelys	African spurred tortoise †Centrochelys atlantica †Centrochelys burchardi †Centrochelys vulcanica
Chelonoidis	Chaco tortoise Red-footed tortoise Yellow-footed tortoise †Chelonoidis alburyorum †Chelonoidis cubensis †Chelonoidis lutzae †Chelonoidis monensis †Chelonoidis sellovii †Chelonoidis sombrerensis
Galápagos tortoise Chelonoidis complex	Cerro Azul giant tortoise Chatham Island giant tortoise Eastern Santa Cruz tortoise Fernandina Island tortoise †Floreana Island tortoise Hood Island giant tortoise (Diego) Santa Fe Island tortoise †Pinta Island tortoise †(Lonesome George) Santiago Island giant tortoise Pinzón Island giant tortoise Sierra Negra giant tortoise Volcán Alcedo giant tortoise Volcán Darwin giant tortoise Volcán Wolf giant tortoise Western Santa Cruz tortoise
†Cheirogaster	†Cheirogaster bacharidisi †Cheirogaster gymnesica †Cheirogaster schafferi
Chersina	Angulate tortoise
Chersobius	Nama padloper Karoo padloper Speckled padloper
†Cylindraspis	†Domed Mauritius giant tortoise †Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise †Réunion giant tortoise †Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise †Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise
Geochelone	Burmese star tortoise Indian star tortoise
Gopherus	Bolson tortoise Desert tortoise Goode's thornscrub tortoise Gopher tortoise Sonoran Desert tortoise Texas tortoise
†Hadrianus	†Hadrianus corsoni †Hadrianus majusculus †Hadrianus octonaria †Hadrianus robustus †Hadrianus schucherti †Hadrianus utahensis †Hadrianus vialovi
†Hesperotestudo	†Hesperotestudo percrassa
Homopus	Common padloper Greater padloper
Indotestudo	Elongated tortoise Forsten's tortoise Travancore tortoise
Kinixys	Bell's hinge-back tortoise Forest hinge-back tortoise Home's hinge-back tortoise Lobatse hinge-back tortoise Natal hinge-back tortoise Speke's hinge-back tortoise
Malacochersus	Pancake tortoise
Manouria	Asian forest tortoise Impressed tortoise
†Megalochelys	†Megalochelys atlas †Megalochelys cautleyi †Megalochelys margae †Megalochelys sondaari
Psammobates	Geometric tortoise Serrated tortoise Tent tortoise
Pyxis	Flat-backed spider tortoise Spider tortoise
Stigmochelys	Leopard tortoise
†Stylemys	†Stylemys botti †Stylemys calaverensis †Stylemys canetotiana †Stylemys capax †Stylemys conspecta †Stylemys copei †Stylemys emiliae †Stylemys frizaciana †Stylemys karakolensis †Stylemys nebrascensis †Stylemys neglectus †Stylemys oregonensis †Stylemys pygmea †Stylemys uintensis †Stylemys undabuna
Testudo	Hermann's tortoise Kleinmann's tortoise Marginated tortoise Spur-thighed tortoise †Testudo brevitesta
Phylogenetic arrangement of turtles based on turtles of the world 2017 update: Annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status. Key: †=extinct.

• IUCN Red List critically endangered species
• Astrochelys
• Turtles of Africa
• Endemic fauna of Madagascar
• Reptiles of Madagascar
• Species that are or were threatened by the pet trade
• Madagascar spiny thickets
• Reptiles described in 1802
• Taxa named by George Shaw