Range: Africa, from inland Senegal through Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, the Sudan, and Ethiopia to the Massaua coast on the Red Sea.
Habitat: Dry (arid) country, spend most of the time in the open or with a certain amount of shrubbery.
Description: The largest mainland tortoise; adult specimens commonly well over 24" in length, many much larger and over 100 pounds; carapace (upper shell) wide, rather flattened, unmarked yellow in color; common name is derived from two or three strong spurs on each side of the tail.
Adaptations/Habitat: The land tortoises (family Testudinidae) are the only turtles fully adapted for a terrestrial life. This family have hard horny shells, a predominantly (or exclusively) herbivorous diet, an almost exclusively terrestrial habitat, and similarly shaped feet. The back legs are normally columnar and have loose skin which folds when the leg is retracted. When in defensive mode, head and limbs are completely retracted and the only exposed parts are the soles of the hind feet, the tail, and the scaly front surfaces of the forelegs which are drawn together at the elbows to completely cover the head. A side effect of this protective mechanism (as opposed to an aggressive or flight reaction) is that one can walk up to a tortoise and pick it up. Since this tortoise species is found in Moslem areas, its possible that it is not as heavily exploited for food. This tortoise has a sandy coloration for camouflage. Habitat is so dry that it may not have access to standing water for years at a time; avoids excess moisture loss with highly impermeable skin and by digging "pallets" or shallow burrows in the ground.
Breeding/Growth:
Diet: Leaves, grasses (predominantly); fruit, and other plant material, preferring the leaves of morning-glory plants.
