Indian star tortoise
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The Indian star tortoise also has radiating lines on the underside of its shell.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Indian star tortoise
- Scientific name
- Geochelone elegans
- Japanese name
- インドホシガメ
- Group
- Amphibians and reptiles
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Testudinidae
- Genus
- Geochelone
Where the name “Indian star tortoise” comes from
The word “star” in its English name comes from the star-shaped patterns on its shell.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebA tortoise of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka that lives in dry grasslands, scrubby forests and semi-desert.
Its shell has star-like radiating patterns, which break up its outline and help hide it when it shelters in tall grass.
In hot, dry weather it is active mostly in the early morning and late afternoon; in the rainy season it moves around and feeds for much of the day.
How the Indian star tortoise lives
During the middle of hot, dry days, it shelters under plants or other cover. It mainly eats grasses, leaves, fruit and flowers. When food is scarce, it may become inactive and go for a long time without eating. In western India and Pakistan, it becomes inactive during cold winter months.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- 15–38 cmUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Weight
- 1–6.6 kgUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Active
- At dawn and duskUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Range
- Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka鳥羽水族館
Where the Indian star tortoise has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- インドホシガメ
- 简体中文
- 印度星龟
- 繁體中文
- 印度星龜
- 한국어
- 인도별거북
- Français
- Tortue étoilée d'Inde
- Deutsch
- Indische Sternschildkröte
- Italiano
- Tartaruga stellata indiana
- हिन्दी
- Indian star tortoise
- العربية
- سلحفاة النجمة الهندية
- Русский
- Звёздчатая черепаха
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — インドホシガメChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Geochelone elegansChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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