Sulawesi tortoise or Forsten's tortoise (''Indotestudo forstenii'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''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 ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Testudinidae. Is native to

sulawesi island Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu A ...

, indonesia. Forsten's tortoise is one of three tortoise species placed in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Indotestudo ''Indotestudo'' is a genus of tortoises in the family Testudinidae. The genus is native to South and Southeast Asia. The three species in the genus are all threatened. Species ''Indotestudo'' contains the following species: References ...

'', the others being the elongated tortoise (''I. elongata''), and the

Travancore tortoise The Travancore tortoise (''Indotestudo travancorica'') is a large forest tortoise growing up to in length. The species was first described by George Albert Boulenger in 1907. It primarily feeds on grasses and herbs. It also feeds on molluscs, ...

(''I. travancorica'').

Etymology

The specific name, ''forstenii'', is in honor of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

botanist Eltio Alegondas Forsten.

Geographic range

''Indotestudo forsteni'' can be found on Sulawesi Island of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and its nearby islands such as

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island. H ...

island. In Sulawesi, it is found in the central and northern parts of the island. In

North Sulawesi North Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the Minahasa Peninsula of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. It borders the Philippine province of Davao Occidental and Socc ...

, it is found in Mount Boliahutu and around Buol, while in

Central Sulawesi Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 fo ...

, it is found in Santigi, Morowali Reserve,

Palu Palu, which is officially known as the City of Palu (Indonesian: ''Kota Palu''), is the capital and largest city of Central Sulawesi. Palu is located on the northwestern coast of Sulawesi and borders Donggala Regency to the north and west, P ...

Valley, Kulawi Valley, Bora Village near Gimpu, and along the western border of

Lore Lindu National Park Lore Lindu National Park is a protected area of forest on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, in the province of Central Sulawesi. The Indonesian national park is 2,180 km2 covering both lowland and montane forests (200 to 2,610 meters abo ...

.Harvest sustainability of Sulawesi tortoise ''Indotestudo forstenii'' in Indonesia
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Taxonomy

'' Indotestudo travancorica'', found in the Western Ghats of

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, has been previously considered a synonym of ''Indotestudo forstenii'', but is now treated as a separate species.

Gallery

File:Baby Indotestudo Forstenii.jpg, Baby Forsten's tortoise

References

External links

* *http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Indotestudo_forsteni1.jpg *http://studbooks.org Indotestudo Reptiles of Indonesia Reptiles described in 1845 {{turtle-stub