📸 PhotoPhoto: Author and original uploader was Baseballchck02 (Melissa Mitchell) at en.wikipedia · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
African Spurred Tortoise
Centrochelys sulcata (African Spurred Tortoise · ケヅメリクガメ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A male's maximum weight of 90 kg is heavier than a traditional sack of rice (80 kg) (Comparison).
- 💡 San Diego Zoo records note a lifespan of 80–100 years. Kept as a pet, it can outlive its owner.
- 💡 In zoos, they are fed finely chopped leafy greens, hay, and pelleted tortoise diet.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The African Spurred Tortoise is a large land tortoise living along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Males grow to about 76 cm and up to 90 kg, while females reach about 50 cm and up to 40 kg. To escape the midday heat, they dig burrows up to 3 m deep.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
They feed on grasses, flowers, weeds, and cacti, and can survive for weeks without water or food. They reach maturity at around 15 years of age, and their eggs incubate underground for about 8 months before hatching.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List EN (2021) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/163423/1006958
- • IUCN Red List category EN — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — S9KW
- • iucnredlist.org — 1006958
- • wikidata.org — Q301016
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Geochelone sulcata -Oakland Zoo -feeding-8a.jpg
- • animals.sandiegozoo.org — african-spurred-tortoise
- • animaldiversity.org — Geochelone sulcata
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Caleb M. Gordon · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.