Speckled Padloper Tortoise

The tiniest species of tortoise in the world is Chersobius signatus (family Testudinidae). Common names for the species include "Speckled Padloper Tortoise", or "Speckled Cape tortoise" globally. It belongs to the Chersobius genus and is unique to South Africa. The larger females can reach heights of nearly 10 cm and weigh between 95 and 165 g. The flattened shell of this species has marginally serrated edges. There are numerous black specks all over the orange-brown shell. The males have a belly that is clearly concave.

This tiny tortoise can be distinguished from the other Chersobius species by its speckles, and by five toes on its forefeet (unlike many of its relatives, which have four toes on all four feet). Traffic on the highways, habitat loss, and poaching for the pet trade are threats to C. signatus. Any commercial sale of Chersobius tortoises is nearly universally rigorously prohibited since it is illegal to trade in collected Chersobius species and because captive specimens are routinely documented in noncommercial studbooks in South Africa and Namibia. Introduced species like pigs and domestic dogs pose a concern as well.