Range: Southern portion of Madagascar restricted to the arid Antandroy Territory between the Mandrare River on the east and the Menarandra stream on the west (7,600 square miles).
Habitat: Savannahs, dry forest and steppes, tending to stay in patches of cactus.
Description: Highly domed dark carapace (to 70 cm), patterned with light lines radiating symmetrically from the center of each plate (a "star"). Some radiated tortoises grow to almost 16" in straight length, making them the largest of the "starred" tortoises. The carapace has a smooth appearance rather than a lumpy, pyramidal shape because the center of each scute is not raised up.
Adaptations/Habitat: The tortoise's limbs end in five toes. The shell is supplied with blood vessels and nerves so the tortoise can feel when being touched. Jawbone is covered with sharp, horny edges. The bony shell is part of the skeleton, protecting both back and underside. When caught, this tortoise emits high-pitched cries, sometimes for as long as an hour after capture (loud noises would startle a predator and it would potentially give up.
Breeding/Growth:
Diet: Herbivorous, feeding on grasses and succulents, including the Opuntia cactus, which was introduced to Madagascar and spread quickly.
Exhibit:
Notes: STATUS:ENDANGERED
The Antandroy people venerate the tortoises which they call "Sokakes" and will not molest them under any circumstances. Some individual tortoises living near certain villages have been known to the villagers for many decades. Until 1925 the tortoises were protected by the almost impenetrable Opuntia cactus thickets which they frequented. These cactus stands had been planted by the Antadroy people as a defensive measure, but they were wiped out by an invasion of the beetle Dactylopus coccus in 1925. Chinese in Tananarive will pay the equivalent of $50 for a radiated tortoise for eating purposes (they are also believed to have aphrodisiac properties) and despite laws completely protecting the species, traffic in tortoises from the south coast to the capital continues.
