Indian star tortoise Geochelone elegans Vulnerable
Where the Indian star tortoise lives – recorded in 3 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 114 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See turtles & tortoises on the world map
| Scientific name | Geochelone elegans |
|---|---|
| Group | Turtles & tortoises |
| Status | Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Found in | 3 countries |
| Continents | Asia, Oceania |
| Class | Reptile |
| Order | Testudines |
| Family | Testudinidae |
Where does the Indian star tortoise live?
Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Indian star tortoise in 3 countries and territories across Asia and Oceania.
Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.
Is the Indian star tortoise endangered?
The Indian star tortoise’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the Indian star tortoise?
The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is a reptile in the order Testudines and the family Testudinidae, genus Geochelone. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the Indian star tortoise
The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is a threatened tortoise species native to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where it inhabits dry areas and scrub forest. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2016, as the population is thought to comprise more than 10,000 individuals, but with a declining trend. It is threatened by habitat loss and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. It was upgraded to CITES Appendix I in 2019 by full consensus among all member states, giving it the highest level of international protection from commercial trade. Conservation group TRAFFIC found 6,040 were seized globally that were intended to be sold in the pet trade. Currently they are commonly bred in many countries to be sold as pets.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Indian star tortoise (revision 1346510800), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q846461 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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