---
title: "What the sources say about the Indian Star Tortoise | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "46 claims from the Indian Star Tortoise profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Indian Star Tortoise (*Geochelone elegans*)

> 46 claims from the Indian Star Tortoise profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Indian Star Tortoise](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/indian-star-tortoise/)

## Geochelone elegans (Star Tortoise). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Geochelone_elegans/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Moist deciduous forest, thorn scrub, and arid grassland | Indian star tortoises occupy a wide range of habitats, including moist deciduous forest, semi-arid lowland forests, thorn scrub forests, arid grasslands, and semi-desert. |
| across three separated pockets of western India, southeastern India, and Sri Lanka | Geochelone elegans is found in three discrete portions of the Indian subcontinent: the first is in western India and extreme southeastern Pakistan ..., the second is in southeastern India ..., the third is on the island of Sri Lanka. (note: stats.habitat field; claim text paraphrases the field, quote is cut across three sentences of the same paragraph) |
| Mostly grasses, herbaceous leaves, fruit, and flowers, and known to eat insects, carrion, and dung | The majority of the diet consists of grasses, herbaceous leaves, fruit, and flowers, but they have been known to consume insects, carrion, and dung. |
| A starburst shell pattern that breaks up its outline in tall grass | the pattern actually breaks up and obscures the shape of the tortoise when it is hiding in tall grasses |
| each scute has a pale center with yellow or tan lines radiating outward, forming the star pattern that gives the species its name | Each scute has a yellowish areola (center) with yellow or tan lines radiating from it, forming the star shape for which this species is named. |
| In tall grass the pattern breaks up and obscures the tortoise's shape | the pattern actually breaks up and obscures the shape of the tortoise when it is hiding in tall grasses |
| Adults also rely on heavy shells and on staying under cover when not foraging or breeding | As adults Indian star tortoises are protected by their heavy shells and habit of staying under cover when not actively foraging or breeding. |
| Eggs and young tortoises suffer heavy losses, taken by jackals, foxes, mongooses, hawks, vultures, monitor lizards and snakes | this species undoubtedly suffers heavy losses of eggs and young tortoises from a variety of predatory mammals (jackals, foxes, mongoose, etc.), birds (hawks, vultures, etc.), and large reptiles (monitor lizards, snakes). |
| humans are the most significant predator of juveniles and adults | Humans are the most significant predator of juvenile and adult Geochelone elegans |
| Females are often markedly larger than males | Females are often markedly larger than males. |
| males have longer, thicker tails and a concave plastron that helps with mounting, while females have shorter tails and flat plastrons | Adult males have longer, thicker tails, and a concave plastron (which facilitates mounting and mating). ... Conversely, females have shorter tails and flat plastrons. |
| Rival males compete by shoving each other and trying to flip one another onto their backs | Males compete for mates by trying shove rival males or flip them onto their backs. |
| males give off grunt-like sounds while mating | During mating, the male emits grunt-like sounds. |
| Carapace: males typically 15 to 20 cm, females 25 to 30 cm, record female 38 cm | An adult male's carapace typically grows to a straight-line length of 15 to 20 cm (about 6 to 8 inches), and females reach 25 to 30 cm (about 10 to 12 inches). The record reported carapace length (female) is 38 cm (about 15 inches). |
| Body mass: 1 to 6.6 kg | Range mass 1 to 6.6 kg |
| Incubation: 47 to 180 days | Range gestation period 47 to 180 days |
| nest temperature skews hatchling sex | Sex determination is temperature dependent, with mostly males reportedly produced at incubation temperatures between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius and mostly females resulting from incubation temperatures from 31 to 32 degrees Celsius. (note: blockquote paraphrase of temperature-dependent sex determination; 'skews' reflects the source's 'mostly' hedge) |
| graze mostly on grasses, herbaceous leaves, fruit and flowers, and have been known to eat insects, carrion and dung | The majority of the diet consists of grasses, herbaceous leaves, fruit, and flowers, but they have been known to consume insects, carrion, and dung. |
| across three separated pockets of range: western India and the extreme southeast of Pakistan, southeastern India, and Sri Lanka | Geochelone elegans is found in three discrete portions of the Indian subcontinent: the first is in western India and extreme southeastern Pakistan (e.g., Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh in India and the Thar Desert in Pakistan), the second is in southeastern India (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu), the third is on the island of Sri Lanka. |
| habitat that runs from moist deciduous forest to thorn scrub, arid grassland and semi-desert | Indian star tortoises occupy a wide range of habitats, including moist deciduous forest, semi-arid lowland forests, thorn scrub forests, arid grasslands, and semi-desert. |
| Breeding usually coincides with the local rainy season | Indian star tortoises breed seasonally, usually coinciding with the local rainy season, which varies in timing. |
| About 60 to 90 days after mating, a female wanders and sniffs out a nest site, often urinating to soften the soil, then digs a flask-shaped chamber with her hind feet | About 60 to 90 days post-mating, usually in the evening, females begin wandering and sniffing the ground. When a female finds an acceptable nest site, she often urinates to soften the soil and begins excavating a flask-shaped nest with her hind feet. (note: "after mating" paraphrases "post-mating") |
| A clutch runs one to ten eggs, laid across as many as nine batches a year | The female lays from one to as many as nine clutches, of one to ten eggs per clutch, each year. |
| The eggs start out translucent and pink, then "chalk" to opaque white after two to three weeks | At first the eggs are translucent and pinkish in color, but tend to "chalk" (become opaque white) after two to three weeks |
| Incubation at 28 to 30°C reportedly produces mostly males, 31 to 32°C mostly females | mostly males reportedly produced at incubation temperatures between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius and mostly females resulting from incubation temperatures from 31 to 32 degrees Celsius |
| Females don't reach breeding age for seven to twelve years, males for six to eight | Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female) 7 to 12 years ... Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male) 6 to 8 years |
| Tortoises from northern India tend to grow larger and darker with less contrast between the lines and the background, while those from southern India are smaller with sharper, more star-like markings. Sri Lankan tortoises tend to grow larger than the southern Indian ones and may have broader yellow lines, though plenty of variation shows up between individuals even within one local population. | In general, star tortoises from northern India tend to be larger and darker, with less contrasting shell patterns, than those from southern India, which tend to be smaller and have more contrasting, star-like shell patterns. Sri Lankan tortoises may have more contrasting shell patterns with broader yellow markings and they tend to reach larger sizes than southern Indian tortoises. However, much variation occurs among individual star tortoises and within local populations. |
| females are often much bigger than the males | Females are often markedly larger than males. |
| a male's are more elongated and set at a wider angle, while a female's are shorter and angled back toward the rear of the shell | Males have a different form of the paired anal scutes (posterior scutes of the plastron)— these scutes are more elongate and have a wider angle of separation than in the female. ... The anal scutes of females are shorter, with a narrower angle of separation directed more towards the rear of the plastron. |
| Animal Diversity Web's 2009 account found no studies of survival or lifespan in the wild, and its top recorded lifespan, 25 years, comes from captivity | No studies on natural survivorship or lifespan in nature are available. ... Range lifespan Status: captivity 25 (high) years (note: 2009 is the ADW account date in its citation line ("Bouchard, K. 2009"); named so a reader sees the negative is dated) |
| Each scute has yellow or tan lines radiating from a pale center | Each scute has a yellowish areola (center) with yellow or tan lines radiating from it (note: vibe.reason, re-paired in the wave 115 final pass (screenshot test)) |
| tags: omnivore | The majority of the diet consists of grasses, herbaceous leaves, fruit, and flowers, but they have been known to consume insects, carrion, and dung. |

## Geochelone elegans. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Geochelone_elegans

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Captive longevity: a maximum of 24.3 years on record | Maximum longevity 24.3 years (captivity) |

## Choudhury, Silva & Shepherd (2020). Geochelone elegans. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T39430A123815345.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2020-2.rlts.t39430a123815345.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Vulnerable | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). Geochelone elegans (Schoepff, 1795), IUCN taxon 39430. |

## Sen (2023). A review of the declining status of the Indian Star Tortoise in India with special reference to Rajasthan. Reptiles & Amphibians.

https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v30i1.18321

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Figures from the mid-2000s, repeated in a 2023 review, put the number taken from the wild at 10,000 to 20,000 a year, peaking with the July and August monsoon | an estimated 10,000–20,000 tortoises are removed from the wild annually, with the peak collection season corresponding with the monsoon in July and August (Shepherd et al. 2004) (note: Sen 2023 repeats Shepherd et al. 2004; dated on the page rather than stated as current) |
| the number rescued from smugglers and households at about 3,000 a year | An average of about 3,000 tortoises are rescued from smugglers and local households per year (Fife 2007; Gaur et al. 2006; Sekhar et al. 2004; Subramanyam et al. 2006) (note: cited works date 2004 to 2007, hence "mid-2000s") |
| they can survive 10 to 15 days without food, which makes them easy to smuggle | Tortoises are hardy and their ability to survive 10–15 days without food makes them easy to smuggle and thus boosts the trade |
| in many places on the subcontinent the species is thought to be a reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu | In many places on the Indian Subcontinent, the Indian Star Tortoise is thought to be a reincarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu, as per Hindu Mythology |
| The species sat in CITES Appendix II as recently as 2016 and is now in Appendix I, which gives it considerably stricter legal protection in every signatory nation | was listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as recently as 2016 (CITES 2016). However, it is now listed in Appendix I (CITES 2023), which provides considerably stricter legal protection in all signatory nations. |
| India's 2022 Wildlife Protection Act amendment, in force from 1 April 2023, placed it in Schedule I, the country's highest protection tier | the Indian Wildlife Protection Act amendment 2022 came into effect from 1 April 2023. Under the new amendment, Geochelone elegans has been placed in Schedule I ... the highest level of protection |
| The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, upgraded from Least Concern in an assessment published in 2020 | was listed as being of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species until 2016 (D'Cruze et al. 2016) but its threat status has since been upgraded to Vulnerable (Choudhury et al. 2020) |
| a body that can survive 10 to 15 days without food | Tortoises are hardy and their ability to survive 10–15 days without food makes them easy to smuggle |
| Local residents collect them too, believing a star tortoise at home brings good fortune | the great - est threat remains illegal collection either for international trade or by local residents, who believe that keeping a Star Tortoise at home will bring good fortune to the household |

## Nijman & Shepherd (2014). Analysis of a decade of trade of tortoises and freshwater turtles in Bangkok, Thailand. Biodiversity and Conservation.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0809-0

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Twelve surveys of Bangkok's Chatuchak market between November 2004 and December 2013 recorded 653 Indian star tortoises openly for sale, the most of any tortoise or freshwater turtle species seen there, ahead of the African spurred tortoise at 536 and the radiated tortoise at 320 | Between November 2004 and December 2013 we surveyed Chatuchak 12 times, recording all species and quantities of tortoises and freshwater turtles openly for sale. ... The most common species in trade over this period were Indian star tortoise Geochelone elegans (653 individuals), African spurred tortoise G. sulcata (536) and radiated tortoise Astrochelys radiata (320). |

## Vamberger et al. (2020). Already too late? Massive trade in Indian star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) might have wiped out its phylogeographic differentiation. Amphibia-Reptilia.

https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-20191215

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| one of the world's most heavily traded tortoises | Geochelone elegans is one of the most heavily traded tortoise species of the world |
| One of the World's Most Traded Tortoises | Geochelone elegans is one of the most heavily traded tortoise species of the world (note: heading; keeps the source's "one of") |