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tortoise, common name for any of the land- dwelling turtles of the family Testudinidae; in Great Britain the term refers to any nonmarine turtle.
The land-dwelling tortoises are exclusively terrestrial, vegetarian reptiles. In folklore these animals represent slowness, determination, and long life. Tortoises are found in both the Old World and the New, but the majority of the 40-odd living species are confined to Africa and Madagascar. Tortoises are characterized by high, domed shells; heavy, elephant-like hind legs; and hard-scaled forelegs. They are placed in five to seven genera; one (Pyxis) is found only on Madagascar; all others, except Testudo and Gopherus, are found only in Africa.
The common tortoise of southern Europe and the giant tortoises of the Galapagos and other islands are among the many members of the genus Testudo. The common, or European, tortoise (T. graeca) has a shell about 18—25 centimetres (7—10 inches) long, brownish in colour, marked with black.
The giant tortoises are now rare or extinct on many islands because they were slaughtered and their habitats destroyed by man, and because of the introduction of animals (pigs, goats, rats, etc.) that prey on the young or compete with the adults for food. Of the giant tortoises native to about 30 islands in the Indian Ocean, all are extinct except the group native to South Aldabra Island.
The 10 to 15 Galapagos tortoises, commonly considered races of the species T. (or Geochelone) elephantopus, are depleted and, in several cases, extinct. Giant tortoises attain very large sizes relative to most other living turtles. One captive Galapagos tortoise had a shell length (measured along the curve) of about 1.3 metres (4.25 feet) and a weight of about 140 kilograms (300 pounds). Weights of about 180 kilograms have been recorded for specimens from Indefatigable Island.
Other members of the genus Testudo are found in Africa, Asia. and South America.
The genus Gopherus includes the three North American species known collectively as gopher tortoises. Gopher tortoises have brown shells about 20—35 centimetres (8—14 inches) long and have flattened front limbs that are adapted for burrowing. The desert tortoise (G. agassizii) is an inhabitant of deserts and open woods of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Berlandier’s tortoise (0. berlandieri) frequents near-desert and wooded areas of Texas and northern Mexico. The gopher tortoise (G. polyphemus) inhabits sandy and wooded regions of the southern United States from Florida to Texas.
