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Kinixys belliana GRAY, 1831

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Higher TaxaTestudinidae, Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Bell’s Hingeback Tortoise, Bell's eastern hinged tortoise 
SynonymKinixys belliana GRAY 1831
Cinixys belliana — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 168
Kinixys schoensis RÜPPELL 1845: 226
Cinixys Belliana — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 222
Kinixys belliana — GRAY 1864: 169
Cinixys belliana — BOULENGER 1889
Cinicys belliana — TORNIER 1897: 2 (in error)
Kinixys belliana — SCHMIDT 1919: 406
Kinixys belliana belliana — MERTENS et al. 1934
Kinixys belliana mertensi LAURENT 1956 : 27
Kinixys belliana mertensi — LAURENT 1958: 117
Kinixys belliana — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 229
Kinixys belliana belliana — BROADLEY 1993
Kinixys belliana — GLAW & VENCES 1994: 226
Kinixys belliana — FRITZ & BININDA-EMONDS 2007
Kinixys belliana — VAN DIJK et al. 2012: 280
Kinixys cf. belliana — CONRADIE et al. 2016
Kinixys belliana — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 32
Kinixys belliana — TTWG 2021 
DistributionAngola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Uganda, N Tanzania

Type locality: Unknown; "bought at Humphrey's, West Africa" according to label on type (fide KING & BURKE 1989)  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1979.919.
Holotype: SMF 7719 [schoensis] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (980 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy modified after Wermuth & Mertens 1961 and VAN DIJK et al. 2012. Loveridge and Williams 1957 synonymized Kinixys natalensis Hewitt 1935 with Kinixys belliana. K. belliana spekii and K. b. lobatsiana have been elevated to valid species status. Kinixys belliana mertensi is not recognized by MCCORD et al. (2005). Kindler et al. (2012) considered Kinixys belliana domerguei as a synonym of K. (b.) zombensis because of very small genetic differences.

Distribution: after VAN DIJK et al. 2012, TTWG 2014: 402; see map in Kindler et al. 2012 (supplement). 
EtymologyNamed after Thomas Bell (1792-1880), a British naturalist and dental surgeon who worked at Guy's Hospital, London (1816-1860). He became Professor of Zoology at King's College (1834) and described many ofthe reptiles Darwin collected. He was a friend ofGray and President of the Linnean Society (Beolens et al. 2011).  
References
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