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Malacochersus tornieri (SIEBENROCK, 1903)

IUCN Red List - Malacochersus tornieri - Vulnerable, VU
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Higher TaxaTestudinidae, Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Pancake Tortoise
G: Spaltenschildkröte 
SynonymTestudo tornieri SIEBENROCK 1903: 443
Testudo loveridgii BOULENGER 1920
Testudo tornieri — LOVERIDGE 1936
Malocochersus tornieri — MERTENS et al. 1934
Malacochersus tornieri — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 275
Malacochersus tornieri — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 8
Malacochersus tornieri — VALVERDE 2005
Malacochersus tornieri — TTWG 2014
Malacochersus tornieri — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 35
Malacochersus tornieri — TTWG 2021 
DistributionKenya, Tanzania, Zambia (Chansa & Wagner 2006)

Type locality: "bei Bussia [=Busisi] am Victoria Nyanza. . .," Tanzania.  
Reproductionoviparous. Exhibits temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) fide Cornejo-Páramo et al. 2020 (and references therein). 
TypesHolotype: ZMB 11740, destroyed in World War II. 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (3511 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentTestudo procterae LOVERIDGE 1923 has been removed from the synonymy of this species and moved to Kinixys spekii (BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991). Color plate in Hennen (2001).

Type species: Testudo tornieri SIEBENROCK 1903 is the type species of the genus Malacochersus LINDHOLM 1929: 285.

Karyotype: 2n = 52 (Dowler and Bickham, 1982). 
EtymologyNamed after Gustav Tornier (1858-1938), German zoologist. See Bischoff 2001 for a short biography. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Bischoff, W. 2001. Gustav Tornier (1858 – 1938), in: Rieck, W., Hallmann, G. & Bischoff, W. (eds) Die Geschichte der Herpetologie und Terarienkunde im deutschsprachigen Raum. Mertensiella, 12: 642–643
  • Bonin, F., Devaux, B. & Dupré, A. 2006. Turtles of the World. English translation by P.C.H. Pritchard. Johns Hopkins University Press, 416 pp.
  • Böttcher, M. 2007. Die Versorgung von Reptilien in der Terrarienhaltung mit ultraviolettem Licht. Elaphe 15 (1): 32-37
  • Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70
  • Chansa, W. & Wagner, P. 2006. On the status of Malacochersus tornieri (SIEBENROCK, 1903) in Zambia. Salamandra 42 (2-3): 187-190 - get paper here
  • Cimatti, E. 2006. Reptile Parks in Tanzania. Reptilia (GB) (48): 52-59 - get paper here
  • Cimatti, E. 2006. African Jewels: Tanzania on foot. Reptilia (GB) (46): 65-70 - get paper here
  • Cordero, Gerardo A. 2017. Quick guide: The turtle’s shell. Biology 27: R163–R171 - get paper here
  • Cornejo-Páramo, P., Lira-Noriega, A., Ramírez-Suástegui, C. et al. 2020. Sex determination systems in reptiles are related to ambient temperature but not to the level of climatic fluctuation. BMC Evol Biol 20: 103 - get paper here
  • Dworschak, Christine. 2016. Die Haltung von Spaltenschildkröten Malacochersus tornieri in Zimmerterrarium . Schildkröten im Fokus 13 (2): 4-12. [[email protected]]
  • Eglis, A. 1960. Notes on the Soft-Shelled Tortoise Malacochersus tornieri (Siebenrock) Herpetologica 16 (1): 12-14. - get paper here
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • Ewert, M.A., R.E. Hatcher & J.M. Goode 2004. Sex Determination and Ontogeny in Malacochersus tornieri, the Pancake Tortoise Journal of Herpetology 38 (2): 291-295. - get paper here
  • Hennen, U. 2001. Categories of the Red List. Radiata 10 (3): 23-28
  • Hughes, B. 1986. Longevity Records of African Captive Amphibians and Reptiles: Part 1: Introduction and Species List 1 - Amphibians and Chelonians. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (32): 1-5 - get paper here
  • Ireland, L.C.; Gans, C. 1972. The adaptive significance of the flexible shell of the tortoise Malacochersus tornieri. Animal Behaviour 20:778-781 - get paper here
  • Kirchhof S, Wasonga V, Mazuch T, Spawls S, Malonza KP. 2023. An annotated checklist of the herpetofauna of the Sibiloi National Park in northern Kenya based on field surveys. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 17(1/2) [General Section]: 1–18 (e324) - get paper here
  • Kirkpatrick, David T. 1997. Pancake tortoises (Malacochersus tornieri). Reptiles 5 (2): 76-81
  • Lindholm W.A. 1929. Revidiertes Verzeichnis der Gattungen der rezenten Schildkröten nebst Notizen zur Nomenklatur einiger Arten. Zoologischer Anzeiger 81(2): 275-295
  • Lourenço, João M.; Julien Claude, Nicolas Galtier, Ylenia Chiari 2011. Dating cryptodiran nodes: Origin and diversification of the turtle superfamily Testudinoidea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62 (1): - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1936. African reptiles and amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History. Zool. Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Chicago, 22 (1): 1-122 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, Arthur & Williams, Ernest E. 1957. Revision of the African Tortoises and Turtles of the Suborder Cryptodira. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 115 (6): 163-557 - get paper here
  • Mertens, R. 1938. Über eine herpetologische Sammlung aus dem Gebiete des Njarasa-Grabens Ost-Afrikas. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Kolonial- und Übersee-Museum in Bremen 2 (1): 1-9 [no page numbers]
  • Moll, Don; Klemens, Michael W. 1996. Ecological characteristics of pancake tortoise, Malacochersus tornieri, in Tanzania. Chelonian Conserv. Biol. 2 (1): 26-35
  • Mwaya, R.T. 2009. The floristic composition of the habitat of Malacochersus tornieri at a hill in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Salamandra 45 (2): 115-118 - get paper here
  • Mwaya, R.T., Moll, d., Malonza, P.k., and Ngwava, J.M. 2018. Malacochersus tornieri (Siebenrock 1903) – Pancake Tortoise, Tornier’s Tortoise, Soft-shelled Tortoise, Crevice Tortoise, Kobe Ya Mawe, Kobe Kama Chapati. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(12):107.1–15. - get paper here
  • Mwaya, Reginald T.; Rudolf Mremi, Abraham Eustace & Vedasto Ndibalema 2021. Prevalence of Tick (Acari: Ixodidae) Parasitism on Pancake Tortoises, Malacochersus tornieri (Testudinidae), Is Lower Inside than Outside Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jun 2021 Vol. 20, No. 1: 116-124 - get paper here
  • Pauler, I. 1990. Zur Nachzucht der Spaltenschildkröte Malacochersus tornieri (Siebenrock, 1903). Herpetofauna 12 (66): 6-10 - get paper here
  • Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373
  • Procter, J. B. 1922. A study of the remarkable tortoise, Testudo loveridgii Blgr., and the morphogeny of the chelonian carapace. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1922: 483-526 - get paper here
  • Rogner, M. 2007. Die Spaltenschildkröte - Malacochersus tornieri (Siebenrock, 1903). Verbreitung, Lebensweise und Vermehrung Terraria (5) 2 (3): 39-43.
  • Rogner, Manfred 2012. Die Spaltenschildkröte Malacochersus tornieri. Natur und Tier Verlag, 64 pp. - get paper here
  • Schmalz, M. & R. Stein 1994. Malacochersus tornieri: Beobachtungen bei Haltung und Nachzucht. Salamandra 30 (1): 12-21 - get paper here
  • SHOO, RAY; MOHAMED NASSORO & REGINALD T. MWAYA. 2022. The effects of handling on natural populations of the Critically Endangered Pancake Tortoise, Malacochersus tornieri (Testudines: Testudinidae). Salamandra 58(2): 151–156. - get paper here
  • Siebenrock, F. 1903. Über zwei seltene und eine neue Schildkröte des Berliner Museums. Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien. Math.-Naturwiss. Klasse. 112 (1): 439-445. - get paper here
  • Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
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