Those are good pictures - That is indeed a Speke's Hinge-back Kinixys spekii
So we still don't know what it is, do we?
No it’s Kinixys Spekii
Well, you can count me as a source- I've been studying the genus Kinixys since 1994. But the bible of Kinixys was written by David Mifsud. All of the evidence I'm sighting above can be further explored in the Kinixys Conservation Blueprint, available here: http://www.asianturtleprogram.org/pages/resources/Kinixys_Conservation_Blueprint_2014/Kinixys Conservation Blueprint HRM 2014.pdfHingeback ID throwdown!!!
*cite your sources
Ooooh!!! That’s a good one....Well, you can count me as a source- I've been studying the genus Kinixys since 1994. But the bible of Kinixys was written by David Mifsud. All of the evidence I'm sighting above can be further explored in the Kinixys Conservation Blueprint, available here: http://www.asianturtleprogram.org/pages/resources/Kinixys_Conservation_Blueprint_2014/Kinixys Conservation Blueprint HRM 2014.pdf
On page 36 begins the account of true Kinixys belliana. In addition to the fact that this animal has a domed shell, Mifsud states on page 39 "Uganda: The species is likely to occur throughout the entire country. Observations have been recorded from Eastern, Northern, and Western Regions (Spawls et al. 2002)."
As we know, you saw this animal in Uganda at Murchison Falls National Park. This clearly matches the known range of Kinixys belliana belliana from the Northern and Western regions of Uganda.
Kinixys spekii's account begins on page 48. It's range map is on page 49. The pink coloration that represents the range of Kinixys spekii does not coincide with the country of Uganda, which is where you were visiting. In the range description, many countries are mentioned in eastern/southeastern Africa. Uganda is not one of them. In fact, Kinixys spekii do not range north or west of Lake Victoria, which your observation was made.
Finally, the biggest reason why it isn't a Speke's is that they have extremely flat shells. They are easy to spot- Mifsud describes the carapace, on page 50 this way: "Flattened, scutes relatively flat with well-defined annuli;" Your animal has a domed carapace, not flattened.
Therefore, I believe that juli11's identification of Kinixys spekii is incorrect.
You observed true Kinixys belliana belliana, which is extremely rare in captivity in the U.S. I have seen no photos of an animal that I believe is Belliana belliana in the U.S. I would LOVE for someone to prove me wrong.
Cheers and happy tortoise watching!
Respectfully submitted,
-Tom
There’s a great website called inaturalist that is used to document species around the globe. I’ve Recently gone through all the Hingeback records. It would be great if you could join this website and add these photos and location information!Ooooh!!! That’s a good one....