''Homopus femoralis'', commonly known as the greater padloper, is a small tortoise of the genus ''

Homopus ''Homopus'' is a genus of tiny tortoises in the family Testudinidae, endemic to southern Africa. Three species formerly included in ''Homopus'' were reclassified into the genus ''Chersobius'', leaving two remaining as ''Homopus'': the common pad ...

'', indigenous to the

highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld,'' , ) is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly , but below , thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of t ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

.Karoo Cape tortoise

CITES CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

species gallery.

Description

As its name suggests, the greater padloper is the largest of all the ''Homopus'' ("padloper") tortoises, but it is nonetheless tiny, averaging slightly over 10 cm in length – though males tend to be smaller. It has relatively large buttock tubercles. Like its close relative, '' H. areolatus'' (and unlike other padlopers), it has only four toes on its front feet as well as its hind feet. Its shell ranges in colour from olive to reddish-brown, and is slightly flattened in both sexes. The shields tend to be separated by very thin white lines. In juveniles and adult males, the shields of the shell usually have slightly darker edges. Males can also be distinguished from females by being smaller, with longer tails. Males do not exhibit plastral concavity. This species is sometimes confused with the Karoo padloper (''H. boulengeri'') which inhabits the Karoo region to the west. However greater padlopers can be distinguished not only by their larger size, but also by their nostrils which are below their eye level, by their having four toes on both their front and back feet, by the larger scales on their forelimbs, and by the darker rings around the shell scutes of many individuals.

Distribution

Its

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 ...

is primarily the summer-rainfall grasslands, savanna and bushveld of the highveld plateau of

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. It is found as far north as the central Free State, and as far east as the

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

border. It is restricted to regions of high altitude, with rainfall over 250 mm per annum. In addition, there is a sparse relict population of greater padlopers that extends into the high escarpment on the edge of the Karoo, where the climate is relatively humid. Although it has also been known as the Karoo cape tortoise, this species is not widespread in the Karoo, unlike the Karoo padloper ('' Homopus boulengeri'') which is restricted to the Karoo region. ''Homopus femoralis'' is a summer-rainfall species. Within its range it tends to favour rocky outcrops, and its population is relatively sparse. It is little studied, although it appears in

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

and other databases.

Conservation

The grassland species is threatened by

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

and poaching for the pet trade. As the trade in collected ''Homopus'' species is strictly illegal and any captive specimens are systematically registered in noncommercial studbooks in South Africa and Namibia, any commercial sale of ''Homopus'' tortoises is almost without exception strictly illegal. 1category]=342&sm 1persistent]=1 This species does not survive for long in captivity, unless considerable effort is made to supply specimens with their natural food, that is, endemic plants from the summer-rainfall grasslands region of South Africa. This summer-rainfall tortoise also has specific temperature requirements. They spend winter under vegetation and rocks (June–September) and lay up to three eggs in summer.Corton, M., , World Chelonian Trust (retrieved August 20, 2013).

References

{{Taxonbar , from=Q3080873 Homopus Reptiles of South Africa Reptiles described in 1888