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Geochelone

 
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Geochelone
 
 
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Geochelone is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of tortoise
Tortoise

Tortoises or land turtles are land-dwelling reptiles of the family of Testudinidae, order Turtle. Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell....
s.

Geochelone Tortoises, which are also known as geoclelone tortoises or typical tortoises, can be found in Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, America
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
, Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, and several Oceanic
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
 islands. They primarily eat plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s, specifically dark greens. Measured by the length of their shell, the species in this genus are some of the largest turtle
Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the Order Testudines , most of whose body is shielded by a special bone or cartilage animal shell developed from their ribs....
s in the world, especially the Galápagos tortoise
Galápagos tortoise

The Gal?pagos tortoise , is the largest living tortoise, Endemism to seven islands of the Gal?pagos Islands. Fully grown adults can weigh over and measure long....
 (G. nigra), which can get as long as 6 feet (1.80 meters).






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Geochelone is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of tortoise
Tortoise

Tortoises or land turtles are land-dwelling reptiles of the family of Testudinidae, order Turtle. Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell....
s.

Geochelone Tortoises, which are also known as geoclelone tortoises or typical tortoises, can be found in Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, America
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
, Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, and several Oceanic
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
 islands. They primarily eat plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s, specifically dark greens. Measured by the length of their shell, the species in this genus are some of the largest turtle
Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the Order Testudines , most of whose body is shielded by a special bone or cartilage animal shell developed from their ribs....
s in the world, especially the Galápagos tortoise
Galápagos tortoise

The Gal?pagos tortoise , is the largest living tortoise, Endemism to seven islands of the Gal?pagos Islands. Fully grown adults can weigh over and measure long....
 (G. nigra), which can get as long as 6 feet (1.80 meters). The genus consists of the following 12 species:
  • Red-footed tortoise
    Red-footed tortoise

    The Red-footed tortoise is a tortoise native to South America and popular as a pet. It draws its name from the red or orange scales visible on its limbs, as well as its head and tail....
     (G. carbonaria)
  • Chaco tortoise (G. chilensis)
  • South American yellow-footed tortoise
    South American yellow-footed tortoise

    Physical characteristics and appearance Several yellow head scales and a horizontal bar behind its eye. The carapace is black with a small, distinct yellow area around the areola on each scute ....
     (G. denticulata)
  • Indian Star Tortoise
    Indian Star Tortoise

    The Indian Star Tortoise is a species of tortoise found in dry areas and scrub forest in India and Sri Lanka. This species is quite popular in the exotic pet trade....
     (G. elegans)
  • Aldabra Giant Tortoise
    Aldabra Giant Tortoise

    The Aldabra Giant Tortoise , from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world.This species is widely referred to as Geochelone gigantea but is now placed in the genus Dipsochelys as Dipsochelys dussumieri....
     (G. gigantea)
  • Galápagos tortoise
    Galápagos tortoise

    The Gal?pagos tortoise , is the largest living tortoise, Endemism to seven islands of the Gal?pagos Islands. Fully grown adults can weigh over and measure long....
     (G. nigra)
  • Leopard Tortoise
    Leopard Tortoise

    The Leopard tortoise is a large and attractively marked tortoise found throughout the savannas of Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. This Testudines is a grazing species of tortoise that favors semi-arid, thorny to grassland habitats, although some leopard tortoises have been found in rainier areas....
     (G. pardalis)
  • Burmese Star Tortoise
    Burmese Star Tortoise

    The Burmese Star Tortoise is becoming extinct in its native Myanmar . It lives in the dry, deciduous forest, and is eaten both by the native Burmese, and is traded to the China, where it is sometimes found in the food markets....
     (G. platynota)
  • Radiated Tortoise
    Radiated Tortoise

    The radiated tortoise is a species in the genus of the Astrochelys tortoises.It is fairly large and considered to be one of the most beautiful tortoises in the world....
     (G. radiata)
  • African Spurred Tortoise
    African Spurred Tortoise

    The African Spurred Tortoise , also called the African Spur Thigh Tortoise, is a species of tortoise which inhabits the southern edge of the Sahara desert, in northern Africa....
     (G. sulcata)
  • Angonoka
    Angonoka

    The Angonoka, Madagascar Angulated Tortoise, or Madagascar Tortoise is a species of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It is Endemism to Madagascar....
     or Angulated Tortoise (G. yniphora)


A recent comparative genetic analysis has indicated that this taxon is "polyphyletic, representing at least four independent clade
Clade

A clade is a term used in modern alpha taxonomy, the scientific classification of living and fossil organisms, to describe a monophyletic group, defined as a group consisting of a single common ancestor and all its descendants.The term "monophyletic group" is used in this article in the conventional sense of "an a...
s". South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
n members of Geochelone are actually most closely related to African hingeback tortoises
Kinixys

Kinixys is a genus of turtle in the Testudinidae family.It contains the following species:* Common Tortoise * Home's Hinge-back Tortoise ...
.

"Self-righting" shell

The form of the shell of the Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans) resembles a gömböc
Gömböc

A G?mb?c is a convex three-dimensional homogeneous body which, when resting on a flat surface, has just one stable and one unstable Mechanical equilibrium....
, allowing it to turn over when lying upside down very easily.

External links

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