Angonoka tortoise

Malagasy beak breast turtle ( Astrochelys yniphora )

The Malagasy beak breast turtle ( Astrochelys yniphora ) is an endemic to Madagascar way of tortoises ( Testudinidae ). It was formerly to the genus Geochelone.

Dissemination

As one of the rarest species of turtle in the world, the estimated 440-770 individuals existing are found 60 km to the north-west coast of Madagascar in an area of ​​only 25 ×. The well-known there as " Angonoka " turtle inhabited deciduous dry forests and spends the dry season inactive in burrows.

Features

It is characterized by the ploughshare -like bony process at the front end of the belly tank. Him put the males a the fight for the favor of a female ready for mating. The Carapace of Malagasy beak chest turtles can reach a length of 446 millimeters. The animals are very uniformly light colored, a radiating pattern on the individual " segments " can not be found. However, the individual segments can be separated from each other by dark-colored areas, which is clearly particularly pronounced in young animals.

The approximately 10 inches deep in the soil applied nests contain 3-6 spherical eggs, whose diameter is 42 to 47 millimeters.

Endangering

The IUCN leads the beak breast turtle in the status of " Critically Endangered " and is the way of the one hundred most endangered species. Main threat to this species are habitat destruction and illegal trade in the animals. In the wild estimated only about 200 mature specimens occur. In Ampijoroa a breeding program is to obtain this kind