Flat-backed spider tortoise

Flat-backed spider tortoise
At the Philadelphia Zoo
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Pyxis
Species:
P. planicauda
Binomial name
Pyxis planicauda
(Grandidier, 1867)
Synonyms[3]
  • Testudo planicauda Grandidier, 1867
  • Acinixys planicauda Siebenrock, 1902
  • Testudo morondavaensis Vuillemin, 1972
  • Pyxis (Acinixys) planicauda Bour, 1979
  • Pyxis planicanda Obst, 1980 (ex errore)

The flat-backed spider tortoise (Pyxis planicauda), more commonly known as the flat-tailed tortoise, and Madagascan flat-tailed tortoise, is a tortoise that belongs to the family Testudinidae.[4] The various common names for this small tortoise usually refer to the noticeably flattened nature of its oblong upper-shell or its tail.[4]

The flat-backed spider tortoise is endemic to the west coast of Madagascar, between the Monrondava and Tsiribihina rivers. Due to the specifications of its habitat, the flat-backed spider tortoise is classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.[4]

  1. ^ Leuteritz, T.; Randriamahazo, H.; Lewis, R.; et al. (Madagascar Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Red List Workshop) (2008). "Pyxis planicauda". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T19036A8789990. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T19036A8789990.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ Fritz Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 293–294. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. ISSN 1864-5755.
  4. ^ a b c "Flat-shelled spider Tortoise (Pyxis planicauda)". Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 10 August 2013.