One of the 41 turtles and tortoises on WAnimals
Reptiles · Testudines · Testudinidae
Burmese Star Tortoise
Geochelone platynota
It faces an extremely high risk of imminent extinction in the wild. See full glossary
The Burmese star tortoise was functionally extinct in the wild at the beginning of this century: collection for the Asian trade had all but removed it from its range. A captive breeding programme started with a few dozen animals has produced thousands of tortoises, and reintroductions in the central dry zone are working.
Weight
3 kg – 7 kg
Size
25 cm – 30 cm
Lifespan
50 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Very hard
Estimated population
Around 14,000 individuals, almost all from breeding programmes
Fun facts
- At the beginning of this century it was considered functionally extinct in the wild, and the recovery programme began with fewer than two hundred animals traced in captivity and in seizures.
- Thousands of tortoises have now been bred and released, and the species is one of the most frequently cited reptile recoveries in Asia, although it is still classified as critically endangered.
- Every released tortoise carries a microchip and many are visibly marked: deterring poaching is built into the design of the programme itself.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton with a shell (reptile)
- Habitat & environment
- Dry thorn scrub forest of the central dry zone of Myanmar
- Sexual maturity
- 8 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 110 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 5 eggs
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geochelone_platynota
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Burmese Star Tortoise — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Indian Star Tortoise
Geochelone elegans
Radiated Tortoise
Astrochelys radiata
Pancake Tortoise
Malacochersus tornieri
Common Tortoise
Testudo graeca
Hermann's Tortoise
Testudo hermanni
Steppe Tortoise
Testudo horsfieldii
How to help
The burmese star tortoise is classified as critically endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
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