#1534 · 🦎 reptiles

African Spurred Tortoise

🇳🇱 Sporenschildpad ·Centrochelys sulcata

ENendangered 🦎 Reptiles 📍 in Europe, not in NL

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 4.0
2. © garma55 · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © Doug Macdonald · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Frédérique MARQUE · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
5. © Michael. Gold · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © Paul Cools · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. © Arthur Windsor · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. © marcel-silvius · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The African spurred tortoise ( Centrochelys sulcata ), also called the sulcata tortoise , is a species of tortoise inhabiting the southern edge of the Sahara desert in Africa. It is the third-largest species of tortoise in the world, the largest species of mainland tortoise, and the only extant species in the genus Centrochelys .

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 5,321iNaturalist observations
threat ENendangered

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
5,321 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by John Frederick Miller in 1779 (247 years ago).
Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.