The Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone platynota) is a rare tortoise that lives in the dry forests of Southeast Asia. It is close to extinction in Myanmar, as it is eaten by the native Burmese.
The Burmese star tortoise has radiating star-shaped patterns on its strongly domed carapace. It has bumps on its shell that look like stars. This tortoise can easily be distinguished from the more common Indian star tortoise by comparing the plastrons of the two species.
These tortoises are found only in Myanmar (Burma) where they inhabit dry, deciduous forests, scrub forests, and shrubland.
Little is known about the behavior of Burmese star tortoises. They are terrestrial and usually active during the day. These tortoises are unique for their ability to remember patterns and spatial pathways. Similar to mammals, they can remember directions and pathways by remembering the correct pathways in their long-term memory.
Burmese star tortoises are herbivores (folivores, graminivores, frugivores, mycophages) and eat a wide range of plants. Their diet includes flowers, grasses, fruit, seeds, mosses, fungi, and sometimes snails, insects, and earthworms.
Female Burmese start tortoises can lay between 1 and 4 clutches per season. Each clutch usually contains up to 4-7 eggs which are incubated for about 172-250 days. The young weigh about 15 g (0.5 oz) when they hatch and become reproductively mature at the age of 6 to 8 years.
The biggest threat to Burmese star tortoises is the international pet trade. These tortoises are also still commonly eaten and are exported to food markets in neighboring China. They are also used in local "medicine". One recent expedition in Burma searched for Burmese star tortoises in their habitat for 400 hours with specially trained dogs and five volunteers, and only found 5 tortoises. In addition, Burmese start tortoises suffer from degradation and fragmentation of their native habitat, mainly due to the expansion of agriculture.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Burmese star tortoise total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List, but its numbers today are increasing.
