African Spurred Tortoise

Centrochelys sulcata

The African Spurred Tortoise is a big tortoise with a strong shell. They are gentle giants that love to munch on grass!

Habitat: Savannas and grasslands

Appearance

The African Spurred Tortoise has a large, flattened, sandy-brown to yellowish carapace with prominent growth rings. Its thick, column-like legs are covered in scales, and it possesses two distinctive, bony spurs on each thigh. These spurs and its massive size make it visually unique.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassTestudinesOrderTestudinesFamilyTestudinidaeGenusCentrochelys

African Spurred Tortoise

Interesting facts

African Spurred Tortoises can go for weeks without any food or water!

It is the third-largest tortoise species in the entire world!

Their amazing shell is actually part of their skeleton, like your ribs!

They get their name from horn-like spurs on their back legs!

Special abilities

African Spurred Tortoise can dig deep burrows that helps them escape extreme desert heat and cold.

African Spurred Tortoise has unique kidneys that helps them retain water, allowing survival in dry environments.

African Spurred Tortoise has an incredibly thick, bony shell that helps them protect against most predators.

African Spurred Tortoise has bony spurs on its thighs that helps them assert dominance or defend themselves.

Measurements & details

Length: 60-90 cm
Weight: 45-105 kg
Lifespan: 50-70 years
Top Speed: 0.8 km/h
Clutch Size: 15-30
Incubation: 90-120 days

Diet & Feeding

This tortoise munches mostly on plants, especially tough grasses, to get all its energy!

Primary Foods

Grasses
Thistles
Succulents
Weeds

Foraging Method

Grazing

Ecological connections

eats

Desert Monitor

Varanus griseus

Predates on eggs and young tortoises.

eats

Tawny Eagle

Aquila rapax

Hunts small, young tortoises from the sky.

eaten by

Indian Sandbur

Cenchrus biflorus

A common, fibrous grass that is a primary food.

depends on

Pale Fox

Vulpes pallida

May use abandoned tortoise burrows for shelter.

Traits

Wildlife

Wildlife encompasses all undomesticated animal and plant life existing in their natural habitats.

Burrowing

Burrowing animals dig tunnels and chambers in the ground, using these subterranean structures for shelter, hunting, or breeding.

Herbivorous

This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.

Savanna

This habitat trait denotes species native to savannas, which are grasslands with scattered trees, typically found in tropical or subtropical regions with distinct wet and dry seasons.