Baby on a Half Shell

My Cousin: The Rio Grande Cooter

I envy the carapace (shell) of the Rio Grande Cooter which is a colorful oval and elongated, flattened, with a slight keel (highest in middle). This fella has tooth-like cusps and webbed feet. Males have longer fingernails on forelimbs than females. The carapace is olive with blotches of alternating yellow and black. Scutes have four distinct bulls-eyes with black and yellow rings. His belly (plastron) is yellow with pigment along seams, which fade with age.

Skin is brown or olive with yellow stripes on neck, legs and tail. Wide yellow stripe down middle of head and neck. Carapace reaches lengths of approx 9.5 inches as adults (females larger than males).

Found along the Rio Grande and Pecos River drainages in Texas and southern New Mexico. Isolated populations have been found in several northern states in Mexico. The Rio Grande cooter is found in clear pools in New Mexico, but can be found in clear to muddy streams in Texas.

Not much is known about the diet of this species, but preliminary results indicate that it may be primarily a vegetarian. Sadly, the Rio Grande cooter is not a protected species in Texas and can be legally collected with a hunting license.

My Grassy Knoll

Summer is finally here and I'm loving it!

My Cousin: The Leopard Tortoise

 The Leopard tortoise is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. This chelonian is a grazing species of tortoise that favors semi-arid, thorny to grassland habitats, although some leopard tortoises have been found in rainier areas. In both very hot and very cold weather they may dwell in abandoned fox, jackal, or anteater holes. Leopard tortoises do not dig other than to make nests in which to lay eggs. It grazes extensively upon mixed grasses as well as succulents and thistles, and (in captivity) the fruit and pads of the prickly pear cactus. The African Leopard Tortoise typically lives 80 to 100 years.

The leopard tortoise is the fourth largest species of tortoise in the world, with typical adults reaching 18-inch and weighing 40-pound An adult's maximum shell length can reach 24-inches in diameter. The giant Ethiopian form might reach 39-in in rare cases. Also, in much rarer cases in countries such as Sudan with their high humidity rainforests this type of tortoise can reach up to lengths of 45 inches.

All tucked in!

It is a large and attractively marked tortoise. The carapace is high and domed, and pyramid shaped scutes are not uncommon. The skin and background color is cream to yellow, and the carapace is marked with black blotches, spots or even dashes or stripes. Each individual is marked uniquely.


Leopard tortoises are herbivorous. They are more defensive than offensive, retracting feet and head into their shell for protection. This often results in a hissing sound, probably due to the squeezing of air from the lungs as the limbs and head are retracted.


This is the most widely distributed tortoise in Southern Africa. Leopard tortoises are increasingly being bred in captivity. This is a positive development, as it should lead to a gradual reduction in demand for animals caught in the wild.

Jonathan of the Manor

Living Turtle-Butterfly Mothership