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Burmese & Indian / Sri Lankan Star Tortoises
(G. platynota & G. elegans)

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• Profile - Burmese
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• Indian vs Burmese
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• Pyramiding
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• Photos - Burmese
• Photos - Indian / Sri
• Star fun
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Other Stars

• Starred tortoises
• Radiated tortoise

Angulate Tortoise
(Chersina angulata)

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American "Star Turtles" with starburst shell markings - Florida Box turtle & Ornate Box turtle.

Star Patterned Chelonians

Other "Stars"

Radiated tortoise adult. Photo by Patrick Allen.

In addition to the Indian / Sri Lankan Star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) there are several other star patterned tortoises and turtles.

Burmese Star tortoise

• Geochelone platynota
• Tortue étoilée de Birmanie - French
• Burma-Landschildkröte - German
• Burmese sterlandschildpad - Dutch
• from Myanmar (Burma)
• has fewer radiating lines in each star pattern than the Indian Star tortoise
• see the Star tortoise pages, menu on the left
• Links:
• Arkive - profile
• Turtles of the World - profile

Geometric tortoise

• Psammobates geometricus
• aka Geometric Tent tortoise
• Tortue géométrique - French
• Geometrische Landschildkröte - German
• Geometrische schildpad - Dutch
• from Africa
• Links:
• Arkive - profile
• Turtles of the World - profile

Malagasy Spider tortoise

• Pyxis arachnoides
• aka Common Spider tortoise
• Pyxide arachnoïde - French
• Spinnenschildkröte - German
• Spinschildpad - Dutch
• from Madagascar (island republic east of Africa)
• three subspecies - arachnoides (Common Spider tortoise), brygooi (Northern Spider tortoise), and oblonga (Southern Spider tortoise)
• Links:
• Arkive - profile
• Turtles of the World - profile

Pancake tortoise

• Malacochersus tornieri
• aka African Pancake tortoise
• Tortue à carapace souple - French
• Spaltenschildkröte - German
• Spleetschildpad - Dutch
• Pannenkoekschildpad - Dutch
• from Africa
• Links:
• Arkive - profile
• Turtles of the World - profile

Radiated tortoise

• Astrochelys radiata
• Geochelone radiata
• Tortue rayonnée - French
• Strahlenschildkröte - German
• Madagascar stralenschildpad - Dutch
• from Madagascar
• see the Radiated tortoise page
• Links:
• Arkive - profile
• Turtles of the World - profile

Radiated tortoise baby. Photo by Vincent Chine.

Serrated tortoise

• Psammobates oculiferus
• aka Kalahari Tent tortoise
• aka African Serrated Star tortoise
• aka Kalahari geometric tortoise
• Tortue étoilée du Kalahari - French
• Stachelrand-Landschildkröte - German
• Sterschildpad - Dutch
• from Africa
• Links:
• Turtles of the World - profile

Tent tortoise

• Psammobates tentorius
• aka African Tent tortoise
• aka Starred tortoise
• aka Union Jack tortoise
• Tortue étoilée à bosses - French
• Höckerschildkröte - German
• Tentschildpad - Dutch
• from Africa
• three subspecies - tentorius (Common Tent tortoise), trimeni (Western Tent tortoise), and verroxii (Northern Tent tortoise)
• Links:
• Turtles of the World - profile

Box Turtles

• Box turtles are not tortoises, but their care is similar
• some North American Box turtles of genus Terrapene have star-like shell markings
• in the eastern US, Florida Box turtles (Terrapene carolina bauri) have starburst shell patterns
• in the western US, Ornate Box turtles (Terrapene ornata ornata) and Desert [Western] Box turtles (Terrapene ornata luteola) have radiating lines on their shells
• Ornate Box turtle vs Desert Box turtle:
  • Ornate Box turtle - darker coloring; thicker radiating lines, but less in number
  • Desert Box turtle - lighter coloring; thinner radiating lines, but more in number; aging tortoises may lose their patterns and become more uniformly colored
• Florida Box turtle vs Ornate Box turtles:
  • Florida Box turtle - higher domed, yellow stripes behind the eyes, plastron may or may not have radiating lines, prefers humid subtropical conditions
  • Ornate Box turtles - flattened carapace, spotted heads, plastron has radiating lines, can tolerate drier conditions
• see the Box turtle and Box photos pages

Florida Box turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri). Photographed at the Key West Botanical garden. Photo by Carly & Art (cc by-sa 2.0).

Terrapene carolina bauri. Photo by Carly & Art (cc by-sa 2.0).

Western Box turtle (Terrapene ornata ornata). Ornate Box turtles are very good diggers. Here she goes!

Terrapene ornata ornata

More links

• Canadian Wildlife Service - CITES Identification Guide for Turtles & Tortoises, includes tortoises with star patterns
• TestudoManiac - Identification des Tortues étoilées
• WCT - Psammobates (Geometric and Tent tortoise) Care, by Misty Corton
• Tortoise Trust - Spider Tortoises, by Dr William Zovickian