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Russian tortoise

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Russian tortoise
A Russian tortoise in Kazakhstan
A Russian tortoise inKazakhstan
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Testudo
Species:
T. horsfieldii
Binomial name
Testudo horsfieldii
Gray,1844
Subspecies
Synonyms[2]
A. 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
    Khosatzky&Młynarski,1966
  • Agrionemys horsfieldii
    — Młynarski, 1966
  • Testudo horsfieldii horsfieldii
    Iverson,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

TheRussian tortoise(Testudo horsfieldii),alsocommonlyknown as theAfghan tortoise,theCentral Asian tortoise,thefour-clawed tortoise,thefour-toed tortoise,Horsfield's tortoise,theRussian steppe tortoise,theSoviet Tortoise,and thesteppe tortoise,[3][4]is athreatened speciesoftortoisein thefamilyTestudinidae.The species isendemictoCentral Asiafrom the Caspian Sea south through Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and east across Kazakhstan to Xinjiang, China.[5][6]Human activities in its native habitat contribute to its threatened status.[5]

Two Russian tortoises were the first Earth inhabitants to travel to and circle the Moon, onZond 5in September 1968.

Etymology

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Both thespecific name,horsfieldii,and thecommon name"Horsfield's tortoise" are in honor of theAmericannaturalistThomas Horsfield.He worked in Java (1796) and for the East India Company and later became a friend of Sir Thomas Raffies.[7][3]

Systematics

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Thisspeciesis traditionally placed inTestudo.Due to distinctly differentmorphologicalcharacteristics, themonotypicgenusAgrionemyswas proposed for it in 1966, and was accepted for several decades, although not unanimously.[5][8][full citation needed]DNA sequenceanalysis generally concurred, but not too robustly so.[9][full citation needed]However, in 2021, it was again reclassified inTestudoby theTurtle Taxonomy Working Groupand theReptile Database,withAgrionemysbeing relegated to a distinct subgenus thatT. horsfieldiibelonged to.[5][10]The Turtle Taxonomy Working Group lists five separatesubspeciesof Russian tortoise, but they are not widely accepted bytaxonomists:[5]

  • T. h. bogdanoviChkhikvadze,2008– southern Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
  • T. h. horsfieldii(Gray,1844)– Afghanistan/Pakistan and southern Central Asia
  • T. h. kazachstanicaChkhikvadze, 1988– Kazakhstan/Karakalpakhstan
  • T. h. kuznetzoviChkhikvadze, Ataev,Shammakov& Zatoka, 2009 –northern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan
  • T. h. rustamoviChkhikvadze, Amiranschwili & Atajew, 1990– southwestern Turkmenistan

Description

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

Russian tortoises aresexually dimorphic.Males are usually smaller than the females,[11]and the males tend to have longertailsgenerally tucked to the side, and longer claws; females have a short, fat tail, with shorter claws than the males. 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.[12]

On average, Russian tortoises will hibernate for about 8 weeks to 5 months throughout the year, if the conditions are right.[13]The species can spend as much as 9 months of the year in dormancy.

Habitat

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Russian tortoises thrive in dry, open areas. They keep to sandy locations, where they can get around easily and burrow. Despite preferring arid environments primarily, Russian tortoises can survive well where humidity is 70 percent, and actually need some rain to soften the soil so they can dig their burrows.[14]These burrows can be as deep as 2 meters (6 ft 7 in), where it retreats during the midday heat and at night, only emerging to forage at dawn or dusk when temperatures drop. These tortoises are quite social, and they will visit nearby burrows, and sometimes several will spend the night in one burrow.[5]

Captivity

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A Russian tortoise at theMilwaukee Public Museum

Russian tortoises are popular pets. While they are a hardy species, they do have some specific needs. Russian tortoises requires a very dry, well-drained cage in an indoor enclosure.[15]They can be kept indoors or outdoors, but outdoor tortoise enclosures generally require less equipment and upkeep, and are preferable if the keeper lives in an appropriate climate. Indoor enclosures should measure 8'L x 4'W x 2.5'H (2.44 m × 1.22 m × 0.76 m), or otherwise offer 32 square feet (3.0 m2) of floor space. Indoors, specialized equipment is required to maintain moderate temperatures and moderate humidity, with UVB light available in an appropriate strength.

In captivity, Russian tortoises' diet typically consists oflamb's lettuce,plantainsand various other dark leafy greens. The Russian tortoise's natural diet consists of herbaceous and succulent vegetation including grasses, twigs, flowers and some fruits.[14]The diet should be as varied as possible to reduce the risk of imbalanced nutrition. Water is important for all species; the tortoise, being an arid species, will typically get water from their food, but they still need a constant supply. Young Russian tortoises should be soaked 1-2x/weekly in lukewarm water no deeper than their elbows to keep hydrated. Tortoises typically empty their bowels in water to hide their scent; this is an instinct, and it also helps keep their enclosure cleaner.[16]

Russian tortoises can live up to 50 years, and require annual hibernation.[citation needed]

Russian tortoises do not require aCITESArticle X certificate.

1968 Moon flight

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In September 1968 two Russian tortoises flew to the Moon, circled it, and returned safely to Earth on the SovietZond 5mission. Accompanied by mealworms, plants, and other lifeforms, they were the first Earth creatures to travel to the Moon.[17]

References

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  1. ^Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) (1996)."Testudo horsfieldii".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.1996:e.T21651A9306759.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T21651A9306759.en.Retrieved20 February2022.
  2. ^Fritz, Uwe;Havaš, Peter(2007)."Checklist of Chelonians of the World".Vertebrate Zoology.57(2): 301–302.doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895.ISSN1864-5755.S2CID87809001.
  3. ^abBeolens, Bo;Watkins, Michael;Grayson, Michael(2011).The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5.xiii + 296 pp. (Testudo horsfieldii,p. 126).
  4. ^Rhodin, Anders G.J.;Iverson, John B.;Roger, Bour;Fritz, Uwe;Georges, Arthur;Shaffer, H. Bradley;van Dijk, Peter Paul(3 August 2017)."Turtles of the world, 2017 update: Annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status (8th Ed.)"(PDF).Chelonian Research Monographs.7.ISBN978-1-5323-5026-9.Retrieved4 October2019.
  5. ^abcdefSpeciesTestudo horsfieldiiatThe Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  6. ^Lee, David S.;Smith, Katrina (2010)."Testudostan: Our Post-Cold War Global Exploitation of a Noble Tortoise"(PDF).Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc.:45(1):1–9.Retrieved16 April2023.
  7. ^Crumly, Charles R (1988). "A Nomenclatural History of Tortoises (Family Testudinidae)".Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service(75): 1–17.doi:10.5479/si.23317515.75.1.
  8. ^Khosatsky&Młynarski(1966)
  9. ^e.g., Fritz et al. (2005)
  10. ^Rhodin, Anders G.J. (15 November 2021).Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status.Chelonian Research Monographs. Vol. 8 (9 ed.). Chelonian Research Foundation and Turtle Conservancy.doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021.ISBN978-0-9910368-3-7.S2CID244279960.
  11. ^"Russian Tortoise Care & Information".Cascade Kennels.20 July 2016.Retrieved16 April2023.
  12. ^"Breeding Russian Tortoises".The Russian Tortoise.Retrieved22 February2017.
  13. ^"Do Russian Tortoises Hibernate?".Pet Russian Tortoise.7 May 2021.Retrieved16 April2023.
  14. ^abBauer, Thomas; Reese, Sven; Koelle, Petra (3 April 2019). "Nutrition and husbandry conditions of Palearctic tortoises (Testudospp.) in captivity ".Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.22(2): 159–170.doi:10.1080/10888705.2018.1453814.PMID29609473.S2CID4563883.
  15. ^Nowakiewicz, Aneta; Ziółkowska, Grażyna; Zięba, Przemysław; Stępniewska, Katarzyna; Tokarzewski, Stanisław (1 April 2012). "Russian tortoises (Agrionemys horsfieldi)as a potential reservoir forSalmonellaspp ".Research in Veterinary Science.92(2): 187–190.doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2011.03.019.PMID21486674.
  16. ^"Russian Tortoise Diet".russiantortoise.org.Joe Heinen. 2002.Retrieved7 January2017.
  17. ^Madrigal, Alexis C. (27 December 2012)."Who Was First in the Race to the Moon? The Tortoise".The Atlantic.Retrieved22 February2017.

Further reading

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