Indotestudo Forstenii
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Forsten's tortoise (''Indotestudo forstenii)'', also known commonly as the Sulawesi tortoise, is a
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...
in the
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Testudinidae Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "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 ...
. The species 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 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Archi ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
.


Taxonomy

Forsten's tortoise is one of three tortoise species placed in the
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''
Indotestudo ''Indotestudo'' is a genus of tortoises in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The genus is native to South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. The three species in the genus are all Threatened species, threatened. Species ''Indotestudo'' co ...
'', the others being the
elongated tortoise The elongated tortoise (''Indotestudo elongata'') is a species of tortoise found in Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia. Description Shell considerably depressed, more than twice as long as deep, with flat vertebral region; anterior and post ...
(''I. elongata''), and the
Travancore tortoise The Travancore tortoise (''Indotestudo travancorica'') is a large forest tortoise growing up to in length. The species was Species description, first described by George Albert Boulenger in 1907. It primarily feeds on grasses and herbs. It als ...
(''I. travancorica'').


Etymology

The
specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''forstenii'', is in honor of
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
Eltio Alegondas Forsten Eltio Alegondas Forsten (12 July 1811, Middelburg – 1843, Ambon Island) was a Dutch naturalist. He studied medicine at Leiden, obtaining his degree in 1836 with a thesis on ''Cedrela febrifuga'', titled "''Dissertatio botanico-pharmaceutico- ...
.


Geographic range

''I. forstenii'' can be found on
Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
Island of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, 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 Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coa ...
island. In Sulawesi, it is found in the central and northern parts of the island. In
North Sulawesi North Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is mainly located on the Minahasa Peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia, but also includes various small archipel ...
, it is found in Mount Boliahutu and around Buol, while in
Central Sulawesi Central Sulawesi (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The provin ...
, it is found in Santigi,
Morowali Reserve Morowali Regency is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 5,472 km2. The districts currently within the regency had a combined population of 102,228 at the 2010 Census;Biro Pusat Sta ...
,
Palu Palu, officially known as the City of Palu ( Indonesian: ''Kota Palu''), is the capital and largest city of Central Sulawesi Province in Indonesia. Palu is located on the northwestern coast of Sulawesi and borders Donggala Regency to the north ...
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 List of national parks of Indonesia, Indonesian national park is 2,180 km2 covering both lowland and mont ...
.


Habitat

The preferred natural
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
of ''I. forstenii'' is
forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
.


Reproduction

''I. forstenii'' is
oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
. www.reptile-database.org. Sexually mature females lay
clutches A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does the ...
of eggs throughout the year. Each clutch consists of one or two eggs.


Gallery

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


See also

*
Sulawesi forest turtle The Sulawesi forest turtle (''Leucocephalon yuwonoi'') is a critically endangered species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is monotypic within the genus ''Leucocephalon''. It is endemic to Sulawesi in Indonesia. These turtles have ...
(''Leucocephalon yuwonoi)'' – another threatened turtle
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Sulawesi, Indonesia.


References


Further reading

* Boulenger GA (1907). "A new tortoise from Travancore". ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' 17: 560–564. * Iverson JB, Spinks PQ, Shaffer HB, McCord WP, Das I (2001). "Phylogenetic relationships among the Asian tortoises of the genus ''Indotestudo'' (Reptilia: Testudines: Testudinidae)". ''Hamadryad'' 26 (2): 271–274. * Pritchard PCH (2000). "''Indotestudo travancorica''. A Valid Species of Tortoise?" ''Reptile & Amphibian Hobbyist'' 5 (2): 18–28. * Radhakrishnan C (1998). "Additional record of the travancore tortoise, ''Indotestudo forstenii'' (Schlegel & Müller) (Testudinita: Reptilia) in Kerala". ''Cobra'' 34 (Oct.–Dec.): 19–20. * Schlegel H, Müller S (1845). "''Over de Schildpadden van den Indischen Archipel'' ". pp. 29–36. ''In'': Temminck CJ (1839–1847) ''Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlandische overzeesche bezittingen, door de leden der Natuurkundige Commisië in Oost-Indie en andere Schrijvers. Part 3, Zoologie, Schildpadden''. Leiden: Luchtmans and van der Hoek. (''Testudo forstenii'', new species). (in Dutch).


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