Homopus

Homopus
Common padloper (Homopus areolatus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Homopus A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1834[1]
Species
At least five recognized species

Homopus is a genus of tiny tortoises in the Testudinidae family, endemic to southern Africa. The genus includes the smallest tortoises in the world.

Naming

As a group, these closely related species are commonly known in Europe and Africa as padlopers (originally meaning "path-walkers" in Afrikaans), due to their habit of making tiny pathways through vegetation.^[2][3] In other parts of the world, such as the United States, they are known as Cape tortoises, as three of the five species live relatively near to the Cape of Good Hope.^[1][4]

Distribution

The genus is indigenous and endemic to southern Africa, with three of the species occurring only within South Africa, one only in Namibia, and one possibly spanning across the border region of both countries.

Distribution map of the five Homopus tortoise species in southern Africa

Species

The genus contains the following species:

• Common padloper / Parrot-beaked tortoise (H. areolatus), of the southern Cape coastal region. The most common padloper species.^[5]
• Karoo padloper (H. boulengeri), of the Karoo region.^[6]
• Greater padloper (H. femoralis), of the highveld grasslands. The largest of the padlopers.^[7]
• Nama padloper (H. solus, previously H. bergeri), of southern Namibia.^[8]
• Speckled padloper (H. signatus), of the South African west coast region. The smallest tortoise species in the world.

Conservation and captivity

They are threatened by habitat destruction,^[4] traffic on roads, overgrazing, and poaching for the pet trade.^[9] Another threat comes from introduced species, such as domestic dogs and pigs.

Among the Homopus species, the areolatus and signatus adapt well to captivity – as their diets are not highly specialized.^[3] The others do not generally survive well in captivity unless some effort is made to supply them with their natural food, that is, endemic plants from the Cape/Karoo regions.^[3] Many are taken from their natural habitat each year, and subsequently die as a result, as they do not readily adapt to typical captive diets and climatic change.^[3] However, they can be very hardy in captivity, and most problems with captive care are caused by faulty nutrition, high humidity or bad husbandry.^[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Homopus.

Tortoise family of turtles (Testudinidae)
Genus	Species of the tortoise family
Aldabrachelys	Aldabra giant tortoise
Astrochelys	Angonoka tortoise Radiated tortoise
Chelonoidis	Yellow-footed tortoise Chaco tortoise Galápagos tortoise Red-footed tortoise
Chersina	Angulate tortoise
Centrochelys	African spurred tortoise
Cylindraspis†	Domed Mauritius giant tortoise† Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise† Réunion giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise†
Geochelone	Burmese star tortoise Indian star tortoise
Gopherus	Bolson tortoise Desert tortoise Gopher tortoise Sonoran Desert tortoise Texas tortoise
Homopus	Common padloper Nama padloper Karoo padloper Greater padloper Speckled padloper
Indotestudo	Elongated tortoise Forsten's tortoise Travancore tortoise
Kinixys	Bell's hinge-back tortoise Forest hinge-back tortoise Home's hinge-back tortoise Lobatse hinge-back tortoise Natal hinge-back tortoise Speke's hinge-back tortoise
Malacochersus	Pancake tortoise
Manouria	Asian forest tortoise Impressed tortoise
Psammobates	Geometric tortoise Serrated tortoise Tent tortoise
Pyxis	Flat-backed spider tortoise Spider tortoise
Stigmochelys	Leopard tortoise
Testudo	Hermann's tortoise Kleinmann's tortoise Marginated tortoise Russian tortoise Spur-thighed tortoise
Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2012 update: annotated checklist. Key: †=extinct.