Sulcata Geochelone sulcata
The Sulcata tortoise (name: Geochelone sulcata), also known as the Sulcata giant tortoise and the Sulcata tortoise, is a tortoise with an extremely athletic character. The carapace has a high bulge, the top of the head has symmetrical large scales, the skull is short, the squamous bones do not intersect with the parietal bones, the frontal bones may not enter the orbit, and the postorbital bones degenerate or almost disappear; the rear part of the square bone is often closed, and the entire foot surrounds the stirrup Bone; the maxillary bone almost intersects with the yoke bone, and the tasting surface of the palate may or may not have a central ridge. The dorsal and ventral carapace is connected through the carapace bridge with strong bony sutures. The hands and feet are strong and cylindrical. Fingers and toes have no more than 2 segments, have claws, and are not webbed. No odor glands. Being herbivorous, they can survive in drier environments. Scattered in Ethiopia, Sudan, Senegal, Mali, Chad and other countries in Africa.
Because the Sulcata turtle lives in the southern part of the Sahara Desert in Africa, the area is mostly very dry, and there are rarely water sources to drink all year round. Therefore, the required water must be obtained from food, and It retains moisture in the body through highly impermeable skin and burrowing to escape the sun. In addition, because they are tortoises that belong to the desert and dry grasslands, in order to escape the high temperature of the sun during the day, they mostly start moving in the evening or in the early Qing Dynasty.
The Sulcata turtle is 83 centimeters long and weighs 105 kilograms, making it the third largest turtle in the world. The carapace is yellowish-brown and larvae are reddish-brown; the center of the front edge is notched, there is no cervical shield, and the rear edge is serrated; the plastron is light yellow, and the rear edge is deeply notched; the hands and feet are cylindrical, with large conical hard ridges; the forelimbs have 5 claws , 4 claws on the hind limbs; short tail, light yellow. Its appearance is similar to that of a leopard turtle, but there are no fancy patterns on the carapace. It is almost a simple bright brown (including all the head, hands, feet and plastron). The laryngeal cartilage exceeds that of some male adults, and the marginal shields on the front and back are significantly curved. A conical granular scale is rare on the back of the thigh.
The important characteristic of its shape is that there are 2 to 3 thick horny nodules on both sides of the hind thighs, the head, hands and feet are ivory to brown, and the front feet are covered with thick scales. Some people artificially feed some of the carapace with excess nutrients to form a lumpy ridge. Although it does not have distinctive patterns like the radiated tortoise and star tortoise, it is a very rough, dazzling, and game-rich giant land tortoise.
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