Species Fact Profile: Home's Hinge-Backed Tortoise (Kinixys homeana)

                                                      Home's Hinge-Backed Tortoise

                                                       Kinixys homeana (Bell, 1827)

Range: West and northern Central Africa

Habitat:  Closed Canopy Moist Forest, Wetlands, Dry Forests adjacent to mangroves

Diet: Plant Matter, Seeds, Fungi, Soft-Bodied Invertebrates, Arthropods

Social Grouping:  Solitary

Reproduction:   Breeding has been reported from mid-March through late May, as well as in September.  Females nest 1-2 times per year, usually during the December-January dry season.  The brittle white eggs are roughly spherical, measuring 4.5 by 3.5 centimeters.  2-4 (up to 6) eggs are laid in burrows in forest leaf litter.  Incubation time (captive records only) 89-102 days at 28-30 degrees Celsius.  Believed but not confirmed to have temperature-dependent sex determination.  Hatchlings 4-5 centimeters long.

Lifespan: 50 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered, CITES Appendix II

• Carapace length up to 23 centimeters
• Carapace is dark with shades of brown, yellow, or red, the centers of the scutes lighter than the exteriors.  The carapace is serrated, flattened dorsally, and angled down sharply towards the back, giving a squared-off appearance.  The plastron is yellow with black markings in the center.  Head and limbs are pale yellow, sometimes dull brown to orange.
• Omnivorous, inclined more towards carnivory than most tortoises.  Possible that is also scavenges or opportunistically preys on small vertebrates.
• Most active in low-light conditions, early morning or dusk.  Hides for most of the midday.  Primarily active during the wet season.  Observed swimming during flooding
• Some overlap in wild with other Kinixys erosa, uncertain how the two species interact or compete
• Common and Latin name both honor English surgeon and naturalist Everard Home (first scientist to describe the Ichthyosaur, deduced that platypuses laid eggs)
• In extensive decline due to severe habitat loss (triggered by mining, logging, and agriculture) coupled with intensive collection from the wild, both for subsistence and traditional medicinal usage, as well as collection for the pet trade
• Species was historically regarded as a holy animal by some communities in the Niger delta, while serving as a traditional food source for others