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Project Noah Nature School
Chersina angulata
± 20 cm - very shy and quick to cross the road. The Angulate is a much more interesting tortoise to look at. Unlike the leopard tortoise it has a much flatter profile to its shell, presumably making it better adapted to the coarse, bushy fynbos. Also, the shell forms what looks like a skirt at the base (the leopard is distinctly rounded in the belly). The shell is very distinctive when out in the open (though they are still tough to see in the bushes), with each segment having a thick olive border surrounding a central sandy brown square(ish). The ‘skirt’ has a pattern of alternating sandy-brown and olive triangles.
Fynbos bushes at Cape Point Nature Reserve.
Spotted on Oct 28, 2012
Submitted on Nov 5, 2012
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