Forest hinge-back tortoise | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Family: | Testudinidae |
Genus: | Kinixys |
Species: | K. erosa |
Binomial name | |
Kinixys erosa (Schweigger, 1812) |
|
Synonyms | |
|
The forest hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys erosa), serrated hinge-back tortoise, or Schweigger's tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family. Another species, Psammobates oculifer, also goes by the same name of serrated tortoise.
This species is indigenous to the tropical forests and marshes of central and west Africa.
The hinge-back tortoise is indigenous to the tropical rainforests of Sub-Saharan Africa. Here it is often found in marshes and river banks, where it spends much of its time buried under roots and logs.
Its natural range extends from northern Angola, throughout the Congo basin, as far east as the shores of Lake Victoria, and throughout the West African forests as far as Senegal. Specifically, it is found in Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, possibly Benin, possibly Guinea-Bissau, and possibly Togo.