New (to me) Hingeback... Homeana I think

zovick

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Jamie,

Your tortoise is doing very well. Congrats on the excellent achievement.

I haven't read this thread from cover to cover so am wondering if anyone has pointed out to you that your tortoise is a specimen of Kinixys erosa rather than K. homeana? Or have you discovered that yourself?
 

2turtletom

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Jamie,

Your tortoise is doing very well. Congrats on the excellent achievement.

I haven't read this thread from cover to cover so am wondering if anyone has pointed out to you that your tortoise is a specimen of Kinixys erosa rather than K. homeana? Or have you discovered that yourself?
Zovick, please do tell us what you see that leads you to the conclusion that this is Kinixys erosa. Thanks!
 

zovick

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Zovick, please do tell us what you see that leads you to the conclusion that this is Kinixys erosa. Thanks!
The rear of the carapace in this tortoise apparently "slopes" down (from my viewing of the photos) rather than being a virtual right angled drop-off as it would be in K. homeana. That is the differentiating factor between the two species. There is a knob-like bump on the 5th central scute of homeana with a 90 degree drop off right behind that knob.

Of course, it is possible that this tortoise is not mature enough yet to be positively identified as homeana. I just wondered if anyone else had said anything to Jamie about the ID.

Here is an article specifically written to describe this difference with photos to illustrate it as well:

 

2turtletom

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The rear of the carapace in this tortoise "slopes" down rather than being a virtual right angled drop-off as it would be in K. homeana. That is the differentiating factor between the two species.

Here is an article specifically written to describe this difference with photos to illustrate it as well:


While that is one of the differentiating features, this is a clearly a Kinixys homeana and not a Kinixys erosa. Distinguishing features that characterize it as a homeana include the presence of a nuchal scute, and the presence of many small compared to fewer larger scales on its forelegs. There is variability in the dropoff at the posterior 5th vertebral scute, especially when the animals are smaller, like this individual.

With respect,

-Tom
 

zovick

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While that is one of the differentiating features, this is a clearly a Kinixys homeana and not a Kinixys erosa. Distinguishing features that characterize it as a homeana include the presence of a nuchal scute, and the presence of many small compared to fewer larger scales on its forelegs. There is variability in the dropoff at the posterior 5th vertebral scute, especially when the animals are smaller, like this individual.

With respect,

-Tom
I missed the nuchal scute! I was in the process of editing my post when the time ran out, but I do recognize that this one may not be mature enough to show the drop-off as of yet. I have owned many of both species and just thought this one looked more like erosa than homeana from what I could tell in the photos. I could be mistaken, of course.
 
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KronksMom

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Jamie, I've looked at all the posts on TFO as they come up, and hingebacks have just never really interested me as much as the other species. Until I saw Nelson. He (?) is beautiful! And thank you so much for bringing us on this journey with the two of you. It's wonderful to be able to see him return to health. Or possibly even become healthy for the very first time. He's lucky you found him.
 

JThompson

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I missed the nuchal scute! I was in the process of editing my post when the time ran out, but I do recognize that this one may not be mature enough to show the drop-off as of yet. I have owned many of both species and just thought this one looked more like erosa than homeana from what I could tell in the photos. I could be mistaken, of course.

Yes, this is definitely Kinixys homeana and not Kinixys erosa, but when they are young they can be easy to mix up! Bill, would you please share some photos of your Kinixys groups? I would love to see what you were working with.

Jeremy Thompson
TheKinixysCooperative.com
 

zovick

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Yes, this is definitely Kinixys homeana and not Kinixys erosa, but when they are young they can be easy to mix up! Bill, would you please share some photos of your Kinixys groups? I would love to see what you were working with.

Jeremy Thompson
TheKinixysCooperative.com
Hi Jeremy,
Here are my 3.5 adult K. erosa. The white ruler in all these photos is just over 12" in length to give you an idea of the size of the animals.

K.erosa Group A.jpgK. erosa Breeding 10 July 06.jpgK. erosa male 2.jpg

Here are my 3.4 adult K. homeana


K. homeana Males.jpgK. homeana Group A.jpg
 

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jsheffield

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zovick

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Spectacular!

They look wonderful!

Jamie
Thank you, Jamie. I wish I still had them! However, back in the the day, I traded them for various groups of Pyxis ssp. and Burmese Stars.
 

jsheffield

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After a good deal of thought and anguish, Nelson has gone to live with another keeper who is working to establish a breeding group of homeanas.

I enjoyed working to bring Nelson back from the brink as regards his dehydration and parasite issues, but upon lengthy reflection, I realized that I was more interested in working with the other species living with me.

I'm happy that he's found a great home and look forward to following his continued growth and involvement in the sustenance of the species.

Jamie
 

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