Leopard tortoise

Leopard tortoise
On the S90 Road north of Satara, Kruger National Park, South Africa
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Stigmochelys
Species:
S. pardalis
Binomial name
Stigmochelys pardalis
(Bell, 1828)[3][4]
Synonyms[5]
Synonyms
  • Testudo pardalis
    Bell, 1828
  • Testudo biguttata
    Cuvier, 1829 (nomen nudum)
  • Testudo armata
    Boie, 1831 (nomen nudum)
  • Testudo bipunctata
    Gray, 1831
  • Geochelone (Geochelone) pardalis
    — Fitzinger, 1835
  • Megachersine pardalis
    — Hewitt, 1933
  • Testudo pardalis pardalis
    — Loveridge, 1935
  • Geochelone pardalis pardalis
    — Loveridge & E. Williams, 1957
  • Stigmochelys pardalis
    — Gerlach, 2001
  • Centrochelys pardalis pardalis
    — Vetter, 2002
  • Stigmochelys pardalis pardalis
    — Bour, 2002
  • Psammobates pardalis
    — Le, Raxworthy, McCord & Mertz, 2006
  • Testudo pardalis babcocki
    Loveridge, 1935
  • Geochelone pardalis babcocki
    — Loveridge & E. Williams, 1957
  • Geochelone babcocki
    — Pritchard, 1967
  • Geochelone paradalis babcocki
    — Dadd, 1974
  • Geochelone pardalis baboocki
    Młynarski, 1976 (ex errore)
  • Centrochelys pardalis babcocki
    — Vetter, 2002
  • Stigmochelys pardalis babcocki
    — Bour, 2002
  • Geochelone pardalis babcockii
    Le, Raxworthy, McCord & Mertz, 2006 (ex errore)

The leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape Province. It is the only extant member of the genus Stigmochelys, although in the past, it was commonly placed in Geochelone.[3] This tortoise is a grazing species that favors semiarid, thorny to grassland habitats. In both very hot and very cold weather, it may dwell in abandoned fox, jackal, or aardvark burrows. The leopard tortoise does not dig other than to make nests in which to lay eggs. Given its propensity for grassland habitats, it grazes extensively upon mixed grasses. It also favors succulents and thistles.

  1. ^ Baker, P.J.; Kabigumila, J.; Leuteritz, T.; Hofmeyr, M.; Ngwava, J.M. (2015). "Stigmochelys pardalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T163449A1009442. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T163449A1009442.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference TTWG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Fritz, U.; Bininda-Emonds, O. R. P. (2007-07-03). "When genes meet nomenclature: Tortoise phylogeny and the shifting generic concepts of Testudo and Geochelone". Zoology. 110 (4). Elsevier: 298–307. doi:10.1016/j.zool.2007.02.003. PMID 17611092.
  5. ^ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 294–295. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. S2CID 87809001.