Russian tortoise

Russian tortoise

Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Agrionemys
Species:	A. horsfieldii
Binomial name
*Agrionemys horsfieldii* (Gray, 1844)
Synonyms^[1]
Agrionemys horsfieldii (but see text) Homopus burnesii Testudinella horsfieldii T. h. horsfieldii Testudo horsfieldii Gray, 1844 Homopus burnesii Blyth, 1854 Testudinella horsfieldii Gray, 1870 Testudinella horsfieldi Gray, 1873 (ex errore) Homopus horsfieldii Theobald, 1876 Testudo baluchiorum Annandale, 1906 Medaestia horsfieldi Wussow, 1916 Testudo horsfieldi Wussow, 1916 Agrionemys horsfieldi Khozatsky & Młynarski, 1966 Agrionemys horsfieldii Młynarski, 1966 Testudo horsfieldii horsfieldiiIverson, 1992 Agrionemys horsfieldii horsfieldii Welch, 1994 Agrionemys horsfildii Rogner, 1996 (ex errore) Testudo horsfieldi horsfieldi Highfield, 1996 Agrionemys baluchiorum Vetter, 2002 Agrionemys horsfieldii baluchiorum Artner, 2003 T. h. kazachstanica Agrionemys horsfieldi kazachstanica Chkhikvadze, 1988 Testudo horsfieldii kazachstanica Iverson, 1992 Agrionemys horsfieldii kazachstanica Welch, 1994 Testudo horsfieldi kazachtanica Highfield, 1996 (ex errore) Agrionemys horsfieldii kazakhstanica Borkin, 1998 (ex errore) Agrionemys kazachstanica Perälä, 2002 Testudo horsfieldi kazachstanica Ferri, 2002 T. h. rustamovi Agrionemys horsfieldi rustamovi Chkhikvadze, 1989 (nomen nudum) Agrionemys horsfieldi rustamovi Chkhikvadze, Amiranashvili & Ataev, 1990 Agrionemys horsfieldi rustamowi Chkhikvadze, Amiranashvili & Ataev, 1990 (ex errore) Testudo horsfieldii rustamovi Iverson, 1992 Agrionemys horsfieldii rustamovi Welch, 1994 Testudo horsfieldii rustomovi Das, 1995 (ex errore) Testudo horsfieldi rustmovi Highfield, 1996 (ex errore) Testudo horsfieldii rustamov Paull, 1997 (ex errore) Agrionemys rustamovi Perälä, 2002 Testudo horsfieldi rustamovi Ferri, 2002

The Russian tortoise (Agrionemys horsfieldii ), also commonly known as Horsfield's tortoise or the Central Asian tortoise, is a species of tortoise and a popular pet.

Etymology

Both the specific name, horsfieldii, and the common name, Horsfield's tortoise, are in honor of the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield.^[2]

Description

The Russian tortoise is a small tortoise species, with a size range of 13–25 cm (5–10 in). Females grow slightly larger (15–25 cm [6–10 in]) to accommodate more eggs. Males average 13–20 cm (5–8 in).

They are herbivores and feed on weeds and wild flowers.

Russian tortoises are sexually dimorphic. Males tend to have longer tails generally tucked to the side; females have a short, fat tail. The male has a slit-shaped vent (cloaca) near the tip of its tail; the female has an asterisk-shaped vent (cloaca). Russian tortoises have four toes. Coloration varies, but the shell is usually a ruddy brown or black, fading to yellow between the scutes, and the body is straw-yellow and brown depending on the subspecies.

The male Russian tortoise courts a female through head bobbing, circling, and biting her forelegs. When she submits, he mounts her from behind, making high-pitched squeaking noises during mating.^[3]

Russian Tortoises do not require a CITES Article X certificate.^[4]

Systematics

This species is traditionally placed in Testudo. Due to distinctly different morphological characteristics, the monotypic genus Agrionemys was proposed for it in 1966. Today, Agrionemys horsfieldii is currently being accepted.^[5] DNA sequence analysis generally concurs, but not too robustly so.^[6] Some sources also list three separate subspecies of Russian tortoise, but they are not widely accepted by taxonomists:^[7]

A. h. horsfieldii (Gray, 1844) – Afghanistan/Pakistan and southern Central Asia
A. h. kazachstanica Chkhikvadze, 1988 – Kazakhstan/Karakalpakhstan
A. h. rustamovi Chkhikvadze, Amiranschwili & Atajew, 1990 – southwestern Turkmenistan

1968 Moon flight

In September 1968 two Russian tortoises flew to the Moon, circled it, and returned safely to Earth on the Russian Zond 5 mission. Accompanied by mealworms, plants, and other lifeforms, they were the first Earth creatures to travel to the Moon.

Footnotes

↑ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 301–302. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Agrionemys horsfieldii, p. 126).
↑ http://russiantortoise.net/breeding.htm
↑ "TORTOISE & THE LAW". Retrieved 18 May 2016.
↑ Khozatsky & Mlynarski (1966)
↑ e.g. Fritz et al. (2005)
↑ http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species.php?genus=Testudo&species=horsfieldii

References

Species Testudo horsfieldii at The Reptile Database

da Nóbrega Alves, Rômulo Romeu; da Silva Vieira; Washington Luiz & Gomes Santana, Gindomar (2008): Reptiles used in traditional folk medicine: conservation implications. Biodiversity and Conservation 17(8): 2037–2049. doi:10.1007/s10531-007-9305-0 (HTML abstract, PDF first page)
Fritz, Uwe; Kiroký, Pavel; Kami, Hajigholi & Wink, Michael (2005): Environmentally caused dwarfism or a valid species - Is Testudo weissingeri Bour, 1996 a distinct evolutionary lineage? New evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear genomic markers. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37: 389–401. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.03.007
Khozatsky, L.I. & Mlynarski, M. (1966): Agrionemys - nouveau genre de tortues terrestres (Testudinidae). Bulletin de l'Académie Polonaise des Sciences II - Série des Sciences Biologiques 2: 123-125.
Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) (1996). "Testudo horsfieldii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2006. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 11 May 2006. Listed as Vulnerable (VU A2d v2.3)
Alderton, D.: Turtles and Tortoises of the World. New York, New York: Facts on File, 1988.
Ernst, C. H. and Barbour, R. W.: Turtles of the World. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989.
Highfield, A. C.: Keeping and Breeding Tortoises in Captivity. Avon, England: R & A Publishing, 1990.
Obst, F. J.: Turtles, Tortoises and Terrapins. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1988.
Pritchard, P. C. H.: Encyclopedia of Turtles. Neptune City, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications. 1979.
Pursall, B.: Mediterranean Tortoises. Neptune City, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, 1994.
Wahlquist, H.: Horsfield's tortoise, Agrionemys horsfieldii. Tortuga Gazette 27(6): 1-3, June 1991.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Testudo horsfieldii.

Tortoise family of turtles (Testudinidae)

Genus	Species of the tortoise family

Aldabrachelys	Aldabra giant tortoise

Astrochelys	Angonoka tortoise Radiated tortoise

Chelonoidis	Yellow-footed tortoise Chaco tortoise Galápagos tortoise Red-footed tortoise

Chersina	Angulate tortoise

Centrochelys	African spurred tortoise

Cylindraspis†	Domed Mauritius giant tortoise† Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise† Réunion giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise†

Geochelone	Burmese star tortoise Indian star tortoise

Gopherus	Bolson tortoise Desert tortoise Gopher tortoise Sonoran Desert tortoise Texas tortoise

Homopus	Common padloper Nama padloper Karoo padloper Greater padloper Speckled padloper

Indotestudo	Elongated tortoise Forsten's tortoise Travancore tortoise

Kinixys	Bell's hinge-back tortoise Forest hinge-back tortoise Home's hinge-back tortoise Lobatse hinge-back tortoise Natal hinge-back tortoise Speke's hinge-back tortoise

Malacochersus	Pancake tortoise

Manouria	Asian forest tortoise Impressed tortoise

Psammobates	Geometric tortoise Serrated tortoise Tent tortoise

Pyxis	Flat-backed spider tortoise Spider tortoise

Stigmochelys	Leopard tortoise

Testudo	Hermann's tortoise Kleinmann's tortoise Marginated tortoise Russian tortoise Spur-thighed tortoise

Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2012 update: annotated checklist. Key: †=extinct.

Extant turtle taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Subclass: Anapsida
Order: Chelonii or Testudines

Suborder

Superfamily

Family

Subfamily	Genus

Cryptodira

Chelydridae

	Chelydra Macrochelys

Chelonioidea

Cheloniidae

Carettinae	Caretta Lepidochelys

Cheloniinae	Chelonia Eretmochelys Natator

Dermochelyidae

	Dermochelys

Kinosternoidea

Dermatemydidae

	Dermatemys

Kinosternidae

Kinosterninae	Kinosternon Sternotherus

Staurotypinae	Claudius Staurotypus

Testudinoidea

Emydidae

Deirochelyinae	Chrysemys Deirochelys Graptemys Malaclemys Pseudemys Trachemys

Emydinae	Clemmys Emys Glyptemys Terrapene

Geoemydidae

Geoemydinae	Batagur Cuora Cyclemys Geoclemys Geoemyda Hardella Heosemys Leucocephalon Malayemys Mauremys Melanochelys Morenia Notochelys Orlitia Pangshura Sacalia Siebenrockiella Vijayachelys

Rhinoclemmydinae	Rhinoclemmys

Platysternidae

	Platysternon

Testudinidae

	Aldabrachelys Astrochelys Chelonoidis Chersina Cylindraspis Geochelone Gopherus Homopus Indotestudo Kinixys Malacochersus Manouria Psammobates Pyxis Stigmochelys Testudo

Trionychia

Carettochelyidae

	Carettochelys

Trionychidae

Cyclanorbinae	Cyclanorbis Cycloderma Lissemys

Trionychinae	Amyda Apalone Chitra Dogania Nilssonia Palea Pelochelys Pelodiscus Rafetus Trionyx

Pleurodira

Chelidae

Chelinae	Acanthochelys Chelus Mesoclemmys Phrynops Platemys Rhinemys

Chelodininae	Chelodina Elseya Elusor Emydura Flaviemys Myuchelys Pseudemydura Rheodytes

Hydromedusinae	Hydromedusa

Pelomedusidae

	Pelomedusa Pelusios

Podocnemididae

	Erymnochelys Peltocephalus Podocnemis

Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2012 update: annotated checklist. Extinct turtles not included.

Portal Book See also List of Testudines families

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