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Animal profile

Radiated Tortoise

Astrochelys radiata

ReptiliaDry spiny forest, thorn scrub and coastal woodland on sandy soilCritically Endangered

Field profile

The radiated tortoise carries a high domed shell marked with pale lines radiating from the centre of each dark scute, one of the most distinctive patterns of any tortoise. It lives in the spiny forest of southern Madagascar and browses succulents and grasses. Collection for meat and the pet trade has driven a rapid collapse.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2024-03-19

Radiated Tortoise

Ten thousand radiated tortoises in one house

In April 2018 police in Toliara, Madagascar, opened a private house and found roughly ten thousand radiated tortoises held inside, one of the largest single seizures of a protected reptile ever recorded, and a measure of the scale of the trade.

Read with evidence →

Radiated Tortoise | Daily Animal Facts