Indian star tortoise (Hoshigame)

Japanese: ホシガメ(星亀) - ホシガメ（英語表記）Indian star tortoise

This land turtle of the Testudinidae family is considered one of the most beautiful of all turtles (illustration). It is found in India and Sri Lanka, and the carapace length of the large females is about 25 cm, while that of the males is about 18 cm, making it small for a land turtle. The carapace is heavy and dome-shaped, with each carapace having beautiful yellowish-white radial patterns on a black background. The plastron also has similar patterns. The pattern on the carapace serves as a protective color in places with a lot of dead grass, but the patterns do not yet appear on newly hatched turtles. It is active in the early morning and evening, and feeds on vegetable matter such as grass and fruit.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

リクガメ科の陸生ガメで，カメの中ではもっとも美しいものの一つとされる（イラスト）。インド，スリランカに分布し，甲長は大きな雌で約25cm，雄で18cmほどでリクガメとしては小型。背甲は重くて，ドーム形に盛り上がって各甲板には黒地に黄白色の放射状の斑紋があって美しい。腹甲にも同様の斑紋がある。甲の模様は枯草の多い場所では保護色となるが，孵化（ふか）したばかりの幼体にはまだ斑紋は現れていない。早朝や夕方に行動し，草や果実などの植物質を食べる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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