Red-leg tortoise, Savanna tortoise, Jabuti, Marrocoy
The red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius ) is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average 30 cm (12 in) as adults, but can reach over 40 cm (16 in). They have dark-colored, loaf-shaped carapaces (back shell) with a lighter patch in the middle of each scute (scales on the shell), and dark limbs with brightly colored scales that range from pale yellow to dark red. Recognized differences are seen between red-footed tortoises from different regions. They are closely related to the yellow-footed tortoise (C. denticulatus ) from the Amazon Basin. They are popularly kept as pets, and over-collection has caused them to be vulnerable to extinction.The species name has often been misspelled as carbonaria, an error introduced in the 1980s when Chelonoidis was elevated to genus and mistakenly treated as feminine, an error recognized and fixed in 2017.
Their natural habitat ranges from savannah to forest edges around the Amazon Basin. They are omnivorous with a diet based on a wide assortment of plants, mostly fruit when available, but also including grasses, flowers, fungi, carrion, and invertebrates. They do not brumate, but may aestivate in hot, dry weather.
Eggs, hatchlings, and juvenile tortoises are food for many predators, but the main threats for adults are jaguars and humans. Population density ranges from locally common to very scarce due in part to habitat destruction and over-collection for food and the pet trade.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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PrecocialPrecocial 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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GrazingGrazing is a method of feeding in which a herbivore feeds on plants such as grasses, or other multicellular organisms such as algae. In agriculture...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
Brumation is a lethargic state that some ectothermic animals, such as many reptiles, assume during cold conditions. Reptiles generally begin brumat...
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BurrowingA burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
Aestivation is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. Aestivation is chara...
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starts withRed-footed tortoises are tortoises of medium-size that live in Central and South America. They have a bumpy, concave shell, which is usually black, gray or brown, and their skin color is mostly black. Young tortoises feature small distinct areas of yellow or tan surrounding or covering the bumps. They may have bright red marks on their head. Their legs and tail often show patches of yellow, orange or red.
Red-footed tortoises have a broad range to the east of the Andes from eastern Columbia across the Guianas, south through eastern Brazil as far as Rio de Janeiro, and westwards to Paraguay, Bolivia and northern Argentina, and including Panama and western Columbia and the island of Trinidad. Recently they have been introduced to further islands in the Caribbean. This species occurs in rainforests, temperate forests, dry thorny forests, and savanna areas. They favor heavily forested, humid habitats, avoiding muddy areas due to the difficulty of burrowing in these habitats. They are less commonly found in forest clearings that have mangoes, palms and other vegetation.
Red-footed tortoises will "gaze follow" members of their own species, which means looking in the same direction as other tortoises in the immediate area. These animals are diurnal and seem to avoid moving far. Most tortoise species are inactive for much of their day, and red-footed tortoises typically spend more than 50% of their daylight hours resting. After a large meal they may rest even longer, commonly for five to ten days. They seek shelter where there is protection from predators as well as thermoregulation. Shelters are often communal, occupied by as many tortoises as will fill the space. These tortoises make a series of clucks, similar to those made by domestic chickens. The sounds are mainly produced by males at the time of courting or mating. Juveniles also cluck or chirp regularly while foraging. They will pause in their foraging and bob their head as they produce the sound. Not much more is known about the communication or perception of this species.
A Red-footed tortoise is primarily herbivorous but will also eat small quantities of animal matter, including carrion. They also eat live or dead plants or fruits, fungi, flowers, soil, sand, and animals that move slowly, such as worms, snails and insects they are able to catch.
These animals are polygynous, and males make sounds and calls along with distinct motions of their throat that are for attracting potential mates and warding off competitors. Males fight for mates, bobbing their heads up and down and then wrestling. If he flips the rival onto his back, he gains the opportunity to mate with the female. Courtship peaks during April and May, though breeding occurs throughout the year. Females dig their nest in leaf litter, laying a clutch of between 5 and 15 eggs. An individual may lay several clutches during the nesting season. Incubating the eggs is not part of her role, so she must hide them well to avoid predators. Incubation is for 117 to 158 days. The hatchlings dig themselves out of the nest, being immediately independent. Red-footed tortoises typically are sexually mature when they are 200 to 250 mm long, usually at about 5 years of age.
The biggest threat to Red-footed tortoises being overhunted by humans. In much of their range, thousands are eaten by people, and in many South American cities they are considered a delicacy. In underdeveloped areas, native peoples consume their eggs as a primary source of protein. They are also threatened by habitat loss and other human activity, including drainage of wetlands for housing, agriculture, logging and road construction. Tortoises and turtles are particularly vulnerable, as humans often develop land next to rivers, lakes and seas where these species lay their eggs. Furthermore, the demands of the pet trade impacts populations so much that in the wild they may become extinct.
No estimate of population size is available for this species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has not evaluated them.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...