Karoo padloper
| Homopus boulengeri | |
|---|---|
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| Karoo padloper | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Family: | Testudinidae |
| Genus: | Homopus |
| Species: | H. boulengeri |
| Binomial name | |
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Homopus boulengeri , 1906 |
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| Synonyms | |
Homopus boulengeri, commonly known as the Karoo padloper or Boulenger's cape tortoise, is a species of tortoise of the Homopus genus. It is endemic to the Nama Karoo Region of South Africa.
Homopus boulengeri is known by several common names. In southern Africa (and in much of the scientific community) it is known as the Karoo padloper, as it is the padloper species which is endemic to the Nama Karoo. It is also sometimes known as Boulenger's cape tortoise, as the Donner-weer tortoise or as Boulenger's padloper.
The specific name, boulengeri, and some of the common names are in honor of Belgian-born British herpetologist George Albert Boulenger.
The Karoo padloper is a small tortoise with a relatively flat, brown shell (olive to reddish or orange brown). Though almost always of a uniform colour, the vertebral shields of its shell sometimes have slightly darker edges – especially in young specimens. Its colouration makes it especially well camouflaged in its arid rocky Karoo habitat.
Like the closely related speckled padloper (Homopus signatus) and Nama padloper (Homopus solus) to the west, it has five clawed toes on its front feet and four on its hind feet. Their weight is generally 100 to 150 grams (3.5 to 5.3 oz). The average carapace length is 100 mm (3.9 in), though adult females are larger than males. Adult males can also be distinguished from females by having slightly longer tails, and a concave belly (plastron).
It looks superficially similar to the larger greater padloper (Homopus femoralis) of the grasslands in the east. However the Karoo Padloper can be distinguished by its uniform colouration, its having five toes on its front feet versus four toes on its back feet, the smaller scales on its forelimbs, and its nostrils which are level with or above its eyes.
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Wikipedia