Biology
provided by Arkive
Most activity occurs in spring, particularly during the mornings, when the Chaco tortoise feeds primarily on plants of the Plantago genus. In summer, the diet comprises grasses, succulents and fruits of perennial shrubs. In northern Patagonia, at the beginning of each spring the Chaco tortoise digs short burrows (50 – 60 cm) in sandy soils, in which it seeks refuge at night and during the mid-day heat. Dens are also constructed, but these are much deeper (usually over 2 m), dug in hard soil and used over several seasons. In the southernmost part of its range, this species has been reported to hibernate for as long as five months in burrows or dens (2).
Mating occurs during November and December, and nesting from January to March. During the breeding season, males aggressively defend their territories from rivals, biting their enemy on the forelimbs, sometimes inflicting bleeding wounds (2) (5). Up to three clutches of one to seven eggs may be laid each season, which hatch after 12 to 16 months. Sexual maturity is thought to be reached at 12 years (2).
Conservation
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The Chaco tortoise is listed on Appendix II of CITES, limiting and regulating its international trade (3).
Description
provided by Arkive
This tortoise's common name is taken from the Chaco regions of Argentina and Paraguay in which it lives, but the Latin name chilensis is misleading, since the species is not native to Chile (4). The oval upper shell (carapace) may be either totally yellowish brown or have dark-brown to black growth rings (annuli) surrounding a tan centre on each scute. The rim of the shell is slightly serrated and has a dark wedge of pigment at the back edge of each scute. The lower shell (plastron) may be uniformly yellowish-brown or have a dark triangular wedge along the seams of each scute. The head, limbs and tail are greyish to yellowish-brown, with the front of each forelimb covered with large, angular scales and each thigh featuring several enlarged tubercles (2).
Habitat
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Occurs in dry, sub-montane plains, deserts and semi-deserts with scrub and trees, from below sea-level to over 1,000 m (2).
Range
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Native to Argentina and Paraguay, from the Bolivian border into western Paraguay and north-western Argentina (1) (2).
Status
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Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List 2006 (1), and listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).
Threats
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The Chaco tortoise is collected from the wild and exploited for the pet trade and sometimes for food (2) (6). Juveniles have been captured and sold domestically as pets since the 1950s, but it was not until the 1980s that international demand began to grow, as trade in other tortoise species became progressively banned (6). Despite protection by national and provincial laws, 20,000 to 50,000 of these tortoises are estimated to be collected annually in Argentina for the domestic pet trade, mainly from the provinces of Córdoba and Santiago del Estero (2) (6). Additional threats include free-ranging livestock, which compete for food and trample both vegetation and tortoise burrows. Local burning practices may also impact populations by directly injuring or killing the tortoises, particularly juveniles, as well as reducing the overall diversity of plant foods available to the species (2). Like many other tortoises, the Chaco tortoise has a late onset of maturity and low reproductive rate, making diminished populations slow to recover (5).
Distribution
provided by ReptileDB
Continent: South-America
Distribution: SW Bolivia, W Paraguay,
NW Argentina (southward to about 40° S in N Patagonia)
Type locality: Mendoza, Chile, Argentina
donosobarrosi: Argentina (RÃo Negro);
Type locality: San Antonio, RÃo Negro, Argentina.
petersi: Argentina (Santiago del Estero, La Rioja), Paraguay (S Chaco);
Type locality: Kishka, La Banda, Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
Comprehensive Description
provided by Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
Geochelone petersi Freiberg, 1973
[= Chelonoidis chilensis (Gray, 1870); fide, Wermuth and Mertens, 1977:78, Le et al., 2006:528, Fritz and Havaš, 2006:126]
Freiberg, 1973, Bol. Soc. Biol. Concepcion 46:86, 1 unnumbered fig.
Holotype: USNM 192959 (alcoholic adult male, CL “156 mm”), collected by Jose I. Marcos, 5 May 1971.
Type Locality: “Kishka, La Banda, Santiago del Estero” [Argentina].
Paratype: USNM 192960 (alcoholic adult female, CL 171 mm), same locality and collection data as holotype, 10 May 1971.
Other Type Material: Paratype: ILPA 5502.
Etymology: The name petersi is a patronym honoring the late Smithsonian herpetologist Dr. James A. Peters.
- bibliographic citation
- Reynolds, Robert P., Gotte, Steve W., and Ernst, Carl H. 2007. "Catalogue of Type Specimens of Recent Crocodilia and Testudines in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 1-49. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.626
Chaco tortoise
provided by wikipedia EN
The Chaco tortoise (Chelonoidis chilensis), also known commonly as the Argentine tortoise, the Patagonian tortoise, or the southern wood tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to South America.
Geographic range
The Chaco tortoise is mainly found in Argentina, but also in Bolivia and Paraguay, mainly within the Chaco and Monte ecoregions. Its distribution is mainly limited by temperature-related variables, and precipitation in the reproductive period.[3]
Taxonomy
The scientific name for this species, Chelonoidis chilensis, is misleading because it is not native to Chile. It occurs mainly in Argentina, Bolivia and neighboring Paraguay. When the species was first described by Gray in 1870, he mistakenly thought that Mendoza was in Chile instead of Argentina (the city was transfer in 1776), thus the misnomer. Sclater corrected Gray's mistake in the same year. However, the rules of nomenclature give precedence to the name chilensis, even though it was based on an erroneous assumption, and the name has persisted.
Description
The carapace of C. chilensis can measure up to 43.3 cm (but usually less than 25 cm) in a straight line, and may be either totally yellowish brown or have dark-brown to black rings surrounding a tan center on each scute. Specimens found farther south tend to be much larger than those found in farther north populations. The rim of the shell is slightly serrated and has a dark wedge of pigment at the back edge of each scute. The plastron may be uniformly yellowish-brown or have a dark triangular wedge along the seams of each scute. The head, limbs and tail are greyish to yellowish-brown, with the front of each forelimb covered with large, angular scales and each thigh featuring several enlarged tubercles.
Diet
Like all tortoise species, the Chaco tortoise is primarily herbivorous, consuming grasses, shrubs, fruits, and cactus pads.
Species status
There is only one recognized species.[4] However, some researchers believe C. chilensis should be divided into three species: C. chilensis, C. petersi, and C. donosobarrosi. Some support C. donosobarrosi as a subspecies (C. chilensis donosobarrosi). There is research to indicate that it may qualify as a separate species, while C. petersi may just be a variant of C. chilensis, the variances being clinal variations in adjacent populations.[5] However, these taxa mentioned have all been formally synonymised[4] and accepted.[6] The morphological variation is explainable as a factor of elevation.[6] Historically, these have been viewed as separate taxa, with little work done to confirm or deny it. Subsequent molecular analysis has found little to no genetic variation.[7]
Etymology
The specific name (or subspecific name), donosobarrosi, is in honor of Chilean herpetologist Roberto Donoso-Barros,[8] and petersi is in honor of American herpetologist James A. Peters.
References
-
^ Tortoise.; Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (1996). "Chelonoidis chilensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T9007A12949680. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T9007A12949680.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
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^ Chelonoidis chilensis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 6 June 2015.
-
^ Ruete, A.; Leynaud, G.C. (2015). "Identification of limiting climatic and geographical variables for the distribution of the tortoise Chelonoidis chilensis (Testudinidae): a baseline for conservation actions". PeerJ. 3: e1298. doi:10.7717/peerj.1298. PMC 4636419. PMID 26557430.
-
^ a b Fritz, U.; Alcalde, L.; Ramírez-Vargas, M.; Goode, E.V.; Fabius-Turoblin, D.U.; Praschag, P. (2012a). "Northern genetic richness and southern purity, but just one species in the Chelonoidis chilensis complex". Zoologica Scripta. 41 (3): 220–232. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2012.00533.x. S2CID 86477800.
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^ Melissa Kaplan. "Chaco Tortoises". Retrieved April 29, 2015.
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^ a b Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2012). "Turtles of the world, 2012 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status". Chelonian Research Monographs. 5. doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v5.2012. ISBN 978-0965354097.
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^ Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (van Dijk PP, Iverson JB, Rhodin AGJ, Shaffer HB, Bour R). 2014. Turtles of the world, 7th edition: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution with maps, and conservation status.
-
^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Geochelone donosobarrosi, p. 74).
- Bibliography
-
Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2012-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2012 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 5: 000.xx. doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v5.2012. ISBN 978-0965354097. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-16.
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Boulenger GA (1889). Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I-III. ("Testudo argentina", p. 159).
-
Gray JE (1870). "Notice of a new Chilian [sic] Tortoise (Testudo chilensis)". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Fourth Series 6: 190. ["Testudo (Gopher) chilensis", new species].
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Chaco tortoise: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
The Chaco tortoise (Chelonoidis chilensis), also known commonly as the Argentine tortoise, the Patagonian tortoise, or the southern wood tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to South America.
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