Bell's eastern hinged tortoise
Bell's hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys belliana ), also known commonly as Bell's eastern hinged tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to central Africa. It has the hinge that characterizes all tortoises in the genus Kinixys. There are no recognized subspecies.
Both the specific name, belliana, and the common name are in honor of English zoologist Thomas Bell.
An omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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starts withBell's hinge-back tortoise is a medium-sized light brown tortoise. They can grow up to 22 cm. On the back of its shell, the tortoise has a 90 degree hinge which, when closed, can protect its rear legs and tail from predators. This broad band of flexible connective tissue is located between the 4th and 5th costals and the 7th and 8th peripherals in adults.
The scutes on its slightly domed and elongated shell typically have a radiating pattern of dark patches, though these can fade. Adult males have a concave belly. Most Bell's hinge-backs have five claws on each forefoot.
In its habitat, Bell's hinge-back tortoise favours tropical and sub-tropical savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa.
It was traditionally considered to be the most common and widespread hinge-back tortoise, found throughout a large part of sub-Saharan Africa such as in Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and down to southern Africa. However, a revision of the species advocated by Kindler et al. (2012) restricted it only to the central African populations, ranging from Angola to Burundi.
Bell's hinge-back tortoise is an omnivore, with a very varied diet consisting mainly of a range of different plants, but also including insects and other meat.
It feeds on vegetables, twigs, roots, leaves, fruits, earthworms, snails, tadpoles and other small invertebrates.
