Kinixys: Difference between revisions
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'''''Kinixys''''' is a [[genus]] of [[turtle]]s in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Testudinidae]]. The [[species]] in the genus ''Kinixys'' are native to mainland [[Africa]] and commonly known as '''hinged tortoises'''.<ref>[http://www.unc.edu/~dtkirkpa/stuff/kinixys.html Kirkpatrick D (1998). "African Hingeback Tortoises of the Genus ''Kinixys'' ". ''Reptile & Amphibian Magazine'' '''54''': 32-37.]</ref> |
'''''Kinixys''''' is a [[genus]] of [[turtle]]s in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Testudinidae]]. The [[species]] in the genus ''Kinixys'' are native to mainland [[Africa]] and commonly known as '''hinged tortoises'''.<ref>[http://www.unc.edu/~dtkirkpa/stuff/kinixys.html Kirkpatrick D (1998). "African Hingeback Tortoises of the Genus ''Kinixys'' ". ''Reptile & Amphibian Magazine'' '''54''': 32-37.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021051047/http://www.unc.edu/~dtkirkpa/stuff/kinixys.html |date=2012-10-21 }}</ref> |
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Most of the ''Kinixys'' species are [[omnivore]]s. 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/caresheets/hinges|title=THE HINGE-BACK TORTOISES|work=britishcheloniagroup.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kingsnake.com/thewyvernslair/articles/phfrog_01.html|title=Natural History and Care of Bell's Hinged Tortoise|work=kingsnake.com}}</ref> |
Most of the ''Kinixys'' species are [[omnivore]]s. 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/caresheets/hinges|title=THE HINGE-BACK TORTOISES|work=britishcheloniagroup.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kingsnake.com/thewyvernslair/articles/phfrog_01.html|title=Natural History and Care of Bell's Hinged Tortoise|work=kingsnake.com}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 00:59, 11 December 2017
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2013) |
| Kinixys | |
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| Kinixys belliana | |
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| Genus: | Kinixys Bell, 1827
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Kinixys is a genus of turtles in the family Testudinidae. The species in the genus Kinixys are native to mainland Africa and commonly known as hinged tortoises.[1]
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.[2][3]
Species
- Kinixys belliana (Gray, 1830) – Bell's hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys erosa (Schweigger, 1812) – Forest hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys homeana Bell, 1827 – Home's hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys lobatsiana (Power, 1927) – Lobatse hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys natalensis Hewitt, 1935 – Natal hinge-back tortoise
- Kinixys spekii Gray, 1863 – Speke's hinge-back tortoise
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Kinixys.
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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 of hinge-back tortoises
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 SEM) are very likely new species and as yet remain undescribed.
- Ticks (Arachnida)
- Roundworms (Nematoda) – Angusticium, Atractis and Tachygontria
References
- ^ Kirkpatrick D (1998). "African Hingeback Tortoises of the Genus Kinixys ". Reptile & Amphibian Magazine 54: 32-37. Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "THE HINGE-BACK TORTOISES". britishcheloniagroup.org.uk.
- ^ "Natural History and Care of Bell's Hinged Tortoise". kingsnake.com.
External links
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).
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