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Red-footed tortoises have many common names: red-leg, red-legged, or red-foot tortoise (often without the hyphen) and the savanna tortoise, as well as local names, such as carumbe or karumbe, which means 'slow moving' (Brazil, Paraguay), wayapopi or morrocoy (Venezuela, Colombia), and variations of jabuti such as japuta and jabuti-piranga (Brazil, Argentina). [5]
[85] Naturalist Charles Darwin remarked after his trip three centuries later in 1835, "These animals grow to an immense size ... several so large that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground". [86] The largest recorded individuals have reached weights of over 400 kg (880 lb) [2] [87] and lengths of 1.87 meters (6.1 ft).
The neck of the Aldabra giant tortoise is very long, even for its great size, which helps the animal to exploit tree branches up to a meter from the ground as a food source. Similar in size to the famous Galápagos giant tortoise, its carapace averages 122 cm (48 in) in length. Males have an average weight of 250 kg (550 lb).
The Travancore tortoise (Indotestudo travancorica) [2] is a large forest tortoise growing up to 330 millimetres (13 in) in length. The species was first described by George Albert Boulenger in 1907. It primarily feeds on grasses and herbs.
One species of Megalochelys, M. atlas, is the largest known tortoise, with shells of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in length having been reported. [2] Popular weight estimates for this taxon have varied greatly with the highest estimates reaching up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) in some instances. [3]
The other four species are Hermann's tortoise (T. hermanni), the Egyptian tortoise (T. kleinmanni), the marginated tortoise (T. marginata), and the Russian tortoise (A. horsfieldii). The Greek tortoise is a very long-lived animal, achieving a lifespan upwards of 125 years, with some unverified reports up to 200 years. [4]
The Russian tortoise is a small tortoise species, with a size range of 13–25 cm (5–10 in). Females grow slightly larger (15–25 cm [6–10 in]) to accommodate eggs. Males average 13–20 cm (5–8 in). Russian tortoises are sexually dimorphic.
Belly of the Egyptian tortoise. Kleinmann's tortoise is the smallest tortoise in the Northern Hemisphere. [5] Females are larger than males; males are more slender and have a longer tail. [6] The carapace has a high dome, and ranges in color from ivory to pale gold to dark brown to pink or dull yellow. [6]