Berger's Cape Tortoise
Encyclopedia
The Berger's cape tortoise or Nama padloper (Homopus solus), previously (H. bergeri) is a species of tortoise
in the Homopus
genus
.
It is endemic to Namibia
.
It is threatened by traffic on roads, overgrazing and poaching
for the pet trade (Homopus species do not generally survive well in captivity). Another threat comes from introduced species, such as domestic dogs and pigs.
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
in the Homopus
Homopus
Homopus is a genus of tiny tortoises in the Testudinidae family. As a group, they are commonly known as "Cape tortoises" or "padlopers" , and include the smallest tortoises in the world....
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
.
It is endemic to Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
.
It is threatened by traffic on roads, overgrazing and poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
for the pet trade (Homopus species do not generally survive well in captivity). Another threat comes from introduced species, such as domestic dogs and pigs.