Indian Star Tortoise

The Indian star tortoise is a tortoise native to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where it lives in dry areas and scrub forest. The carapace is very convex, with the shields often forming humps, the sides nearly vertical, and the rear margin somewhat expanded and strongly serrated. There is no nuchal scute, and the shields are strongly striated concentrically. It can grow to about 10 inches (25 cm) long, and adult males and females look clearly different (Wikipedia, general species account).

Females reach sexual maturity at about 8–12 years and males at 6–8 years. About 60–90 days after mating a female digs a nest and lays her eggs, and she can lay from one to nine clutches a year of one to ten eggs each. Tortoises in Sri Lanka tend to have wider yellow markings and be larger than those in India. The Reptile Database gives its Indian range from Odisha in the east and Kutch in the west south to the tip of the peninsula. The species is threatened by habitat loss and by poaching for the pet trade, and was moved to CITES Appendix I in 2019.