Magalasy Flat-tailed Tortoise
(Pyxis planicauda)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Pyxis
Species: planicauda

The Madagascar flat-tail tortoise is endemic to the west coast of Madagascar. This small species of tortoise (less the 6" and under 650grams) is found within an area of less then 500 square kilometers. That remaining area is approximately double the size of the city of Knoxville. The habitat of dry, deciduous forest is found only on the west coast of Madagascar. Threats to this unique ecosystem are habitat conversion from forest to agriculture and oil exploration. At the current rate of habitat loss (2-4% per year), the forest will be gone within 30 years. Because of these threats, Pyxis planicauda is listed as CITES I and endangered by the IUCN. This forest is home to many other unique species: three species of baobab tree (Adansonia fony, A. grandidieri, and A. za), the Madagascar giant jumping rat (Hypogeomys antimena), countless lemurs and birds, and many reptiles and amphibians.

There are two basic seasons that occur in Madagascar: a rainy/hot season, and a cool/dry season. The tortoises are active during the rainy/hot season which extends from November until April/May. During this six month active period the tortoises forage for mushrooms, leaves, and flowers. This is also when breeding occurs, followed by a single egg clutch laid one month later. Females may produce up to three clutches per year. The eggs then go through a diapause where there is no development in the egg for upwards of several months. Hatching is timed with the return of the rainy season the following November. Like many chelonians, sexual maturity is reached at the same approximate age as humans, 15-20 years. The tortoises are dormant in the leaf litter for the other five to six months of the year.

Knoxville Zoo has a long history with this species; we first acquired them in 1975. Our original male is still with us and still courts the females each spring. Thanks to the help of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT) and the Bronx Zoo/WCS, Knoxville Zoo was able to acquire additional animals to establish an ex-situ breeding group in the early 1990s. In 2002, we became the second zoo in the world (first in the US) to successfully reproduce and hatch this endangered species. With other successful captive breeding programs at DWCT, Zoo Atlanta, and the San Diego Zoo, the genetics of this captive population looks to be diverse enough to maintain a successful long-term breeding project. This species is on exhibit in Tortoise Territory from May until October. Knoxville Zoo maintains the AZA studbook and PMP for this species.

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