10 Biggest Tortoise Species In The World -

To The Smallest

This information on the biggest tortoises was taken from www.allturtles.com

The Smallest Breed Of Tortoise

   The worlds smallest tortoise is Chersobius Signatus, or more commonly known as a Speckled Dwarf Tortoise. They come from the west of South Africa, in a small area of Little Namaqualand.

   They are sexually dimorphic with the males measuring  just 6-8cm along the Carapace and the females are slightly bigger at almost 10cm. They weigh 95-165kg and they have a flattened shell, to allow them to get inside rocky crevasse, the shell is an orange brown colour and covered with hundreds of black spots for camouflage and has slightly serrated edges.  Unusually they have 5 toes on their front feet, unlike most tortoises who only have 4.

   These tortoises live in rocky outcrops, and they bask in crevices, using the warmth from the rocks to heat up but still in the shade so they don’t dehydrate. They eat small succulent plants. Hatchlings are under 7 grams and 30mm, which is about 1/3 the size of their mothers shell!

   Some species of tortoises maybe smaller or larger, and have developed niche tactics to survive but basically, under the shell,  they are all much the same.