Kinixys
Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox
Kinixys is a genus of turtles in the family Testudinidae. The genus was erected by Thomas Bell in 1827.[1][2] The species in the genus Kinixys are native to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar[2] and commonly known as hinged tortoises[3] or hinge-back tortoises.[2][4]
Most of the Kinixys species are omnivores. They feed mainly on a wide range of different leaves, weeds, roots, flowers and fruits. However, they also eat worms, insects and other small invertebrates.[5][6]
Species
The following species are recognised in the genus Kinixys:[1]
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| Image | Species | Common name |
|---|---|---|
| File:Kinixys belliana 219976203 (cropped).jpg | Kinixys belliana
(Gray, 1830)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Bell's hinge-back tortoise |
| File:Kinixys erosa 13137126.jpg | Kinixys erosa
(Schweigger, 1812)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
forest hinge-back tortoise |
| File:Home's hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys homeana).jpg | Kinixys homeana
Bell, 1827Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Home's hinge-back tortoise |
| File:Kinixys lobatsiana 175371696 (cropped).jpg | Kinixys lobatsiana
(Power, 1927)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Lobatse hinge-back tortoise |
| File:Kinixys natalensis 106015820.jpg | Kinixys natalensis
Hewitt, 1935Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Natal hinge-back tortoise |
| File:Kinixys nogueyi 218500289 (cropped).jpg | Kinixys nogueyi
Hewitt, 1935Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Western hinge-back tortoise |
| File:Speke's Hingeback Tortoise (Kinixys spekii) (14027958683).jpg | Kinixys spekii
Gray, 1863Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Speke's hinge-back tortoise |
| File:Kinixys zombensis zombensis 1360754 (cropped).jpg | Kinixys zombensis
Hewitt, 1931Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Eastern hinge-back tortoise |
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Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Kinixys.
Distribution and habitat
The several species of the genus Kinxys are found across much of tropical and sub-tropical sub-Saharan Africa, ranging as far south as KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and as far north as the fringes of the Sahel and Sahara. However, individuals are often very scarce within this range, and several species are threatened.
Though the species' wide geographic ranges overlap considerably, they are separated from each other by favouring different habitats within this range. Some species (such as K. belliana) favour open savannah or grasslands, others (such as K. homeana) favour rainforest.
Parasites
Species of tortoises in the genus Kinixys play host to a number of ectoparasites (external) and endoparasites (internal). A survey (by Alan Probert & Clive Humphreys) of mixed captive K. spekii and K. belliana (mostly K. spekii) in Zimbabwe showed that the following parasites were known to infest/infect this species. This had been observed and published by others too. However some of the tiny roundworms (photographed under scanning electron microscope) are very likely new species and as yet remain undescribed.
- Ticks (Arachnida)
- Roundworms (Nematoda) – Angusticium, Atractis and Tachygontria
References
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- ↑ a b Kinixys at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 30 September 2022.
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Kirkpatrick, D. (1998). "African Hingeback Tortoises of the Genus Kinixys". Reptile & Amphibian Magazine. 54: 32-37. Template:Webarchive
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Further reading
- Bell, T. (1827). "On two new Genera of Land Tortoises". The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 15: 392–401. (Kinixys, new genus, p. 398). (in English and Latin).