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Astrochelys radiata (SHAW, 1802)

IUCN Red List - Astrochelys radiata - Critically Endangered, CR
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Higher TaxaTestudinidae, Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Radiated Tortoise
G: Strahlenschildkröte 
SynonymTestudo radiata SHAW 1802: 22
Testudo coui DAUDIN 1802
Testudo Radiata — CUVIER 1831: 65
Testudo radiata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 83
Testudo madagascariensis DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835 (nomen nudum)
Testudo radiata — BELL 1836-1842
Testudo Radiata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 220
Testudo desertorum GRANDIDIER 1869
Testudo radiata — SOWERBY 1872
Testudo hypselonota BOURRET 1941: 9
Testudo (Asterochelys) radiata — WILLIAMS 1952: 555
Testudo hypselonota — WERMUTH & MERTENS 1961: 213
Testudo radiata — WERMUTH & MERTENS 1977: 90
Asterochelys radiata — BOUR 1980
Asterochelys radiata — OBST 1985
Geochelone radiata — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 251
Geochelone (Asterochelys) radiata — KUCHLING 1989
Geochelone radiata — PRITCHARD 1992
Astrochelys radiata — DAVID 1994
Geochelone (Astrochelys) radiata — GLAW & VENCES 1994: 224
Asterochelys radiata — GLAW 2004
Astrochelys radiata — THOMAS & CHIARI 2004
Astrochelys radiata — VALVERDE 2005
Astrochelys radiata — LE et al. 2006
Astrochelys radiata — BONIN 2006: 203
Geochelone radiata — HAMMER 2007
Astrochelys radiata — FRITZ & BININDA-EMONDS 2007
Geochelone radiata — BAUR 2014
Astrochelys radiata — TTWG 2021 
DistributionMadagascar (Antandroy Territory in the south between the Mandrare and Menarandra waterways). Endemic.

Type locality: "Madagascar"; restricted by Bour 1978 to "Soalara (Baie de Saint-Augustin) sud-ouest de Madagascar".  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1947.3.5.15. 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1780 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: largely after Wermuth & Mertens 1977: 90.

Theoretically the name radiata is a junior synonym of Testudo coui. It should be applied to the ICZN to propose the conservation of radiata and suppress the name coui. Picture in Herpetofauna 4 (17): 13

FRITZ (1995) reports hybrids between Geochelone radiata and G. carbonaria.

Type species: Testudo radiata SHAW 1802 is the type species of the genus Asterochelys GRAY 1873: 724 (PZS), later misspelled Astrochelys GRAY 1873: 4. 
References
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