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Centrochelys sulcata (MILLER, 1779)

IUCN Red List - Centrochelys sulcata - Vulnerable, VU
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Higher TaxaTestudinidae, Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Sahel Tortoise, African Spurred Tortoise
G: Spornschildkröte 
SynonymTestudo sulcata MILLER 1779: plate 26
Testudo calcarata SCHNEIDER 1784 (nom. subst. pro T. sulcata Miller)
Testudo radiata [var.] senegalensis GRAY 1831
Testudo sulcata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 74
Testudo sulcata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 220
Testudo sulcata — SOWERBY 1872
Geochelone sulcata — PRITCHARD 1967
Geochelone sulcata — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 249
Centrochelys sulcata — DEVAUX 2004
Geochelone sulcata — VALVERDE 2004
Centrochelys sulcata — VALVERDE 2005
Geochelone sulcata — LE et al. 2006
Centrochelys (Geochelone) sulcata — BONIN et al 2006
Centrochelys sulcata — CHIRIO & LEBRETON 2007
Centrochelys sulcata — TRAPE, CHIRIO & TRAPE 2012
Centrochelys sulcata — TTWG 2014
Centrochelys sulcata — TTWG 2021 
DistributionEthiopia, Eritrea, Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Chad, Niger, Mali, S Mauritania, Senegal, Central African Republic (range generally lies along the southern perimeter of the Sahara Desert), Cameroon

Type locality: "India orientali" (in error); incorrectly listed as "Westindien" by Wermuth and Mertens 1961:224, and Wermuth and Mertens 1977:90.  
Reproductionoviparous. Temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) fide Nemesházi & Bókony 2023. 
TypesHolotype: unlocated; although ZSM 2753/0 has the notation 'lectotype' in the museum's species catalog: however, this number is three juveniles of Geochelol/e deniculata according to Crumly (pers. comm., cited in Iverson 1992) 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1874 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentType species: Testudo sulcata MILLER 1779 is the type species of the genus Centrochelys GRAY 1872. 
References
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  • Böhme, Wolfgang 2022. Nördlicher (subrezenter?) Rand-Nachweis der Spornschildkröte Centrochelys sulcata (miLLer, 1779) aus dem nördlichen Sudan. Sauria 44 (2): 67-72
  • Bonin, F., Devaux, B. & Dupré, A. 2006. Turtles of the World. English translation by P.C.H. Pritchard. Johns Hopkins University Press, 416 pp.
  • Chirio, L. & Lebreton, M. 2007. Atlas des reptiles du Cameroun. MNHN, IRD, Paris 688 pp.
  • Devaux, B. 2004. Centrochelys sulcata. The tortoise that weeps. Reptilia (GB) (37): 20-26 - get paper here
  • Duméril, A. M.C., G. BIBRON & A. DUMÉRIL 1854. Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 9. Paris, XX + 440 S. - get paper here
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  • Herz, Mario. 2014. Nachzucht der Spornschildkröte (Geochelone sulcata Miller, 1779) in der F3-Generation. Radiata 23 (4): 4-16
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  • Livoreil, Barbara; and Van Der Kuyl, Antoinette C. 2005. Genetic Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Variation in Eastern and Western African Spurred Tortoises (Geochelone sulcata). Chelonian Conserv. Biol. 4 (4): 951-954.
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  • Petrozzi, F. et al. 2020. Centrochelys sulcata (Miller 1779) – African Spurred Tortoise, Grooved Tortoise, Sahel Tortoise, Tortue Sillonnée. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conserva Chelonian Research Monographs 5(14): 110.1–16 - get paper here
  • Petrozzi, Fabio, Luca Luiselli, Godfrey C. Akani and Edem A. Eniang. 2015. Supplementary distribution data of Centrochelys sulcata (Miller, 1779), in northern Nigeria (West Africa). Herpetozoa 28 (1/2): 92-94 - get paper here
  • Petrozzi, Fabio; Emmanuel Hema, Djidama Sirima, Benoit Doamba, Gabriel Hoinsoudé Segniagbeto, Tomas Diagne, Nioking Amadi, Giovanni Amori, Godfrey C. Akani, Edem Eniang, Laurent Chirio, Luca Luiselli 2018. Distance-Generated Field Density Estimates for the Threatened Sahel Tortoise Centrochelys sulcata. Russ. J. Herpetol. 25 (2): 83-87 - get paper here
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