Ploughshare Tortoise Unique but close to extinct

 Ploughshare Tortoise Unique but close to extinct should know about special

Scientific classification

Kingdom:  Animalia         Phylum: Chordata               Class: Reptilia              Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira       Family: Testudinidae         Genus: Astrochelys       Species: A. yniphora 

Binomial nameAstrochelys yniphoraVaillant, 1885,The Ploughshare Tortoise is a land tortoise that lives only on the island of Madagascar. They are considered the most threatened species of land tortoises because many of them have been captured to keep as pets, and because their habitat has been turned into farmland.
Ploughshare tortoises are smallish land tortoises with high-domed, brown shells, measuring around 40 centimeters long. Males weigh a bit over 10 kilograms, while females average 8.8 kilograms – the sexes can often be distinguished visually by size. One of the plates, or scutes, of the lower shell projects out and up between the front legs, vaguely resembling a ploughshare and giving the species its name.Adress :-The ploughshare tortoise is found only in a sixty square kilometre area in north-western Madagascar, around Baly Bay. The terrain and flora here is mixed, including mangrove swamp, savannah, bamboo scrub, and deciduous forest. Most of the region is within 50 meters of sea level. The tortoises prefer dense bamboo thickets.

Extinction is looming large in the ploughshare tortoise’s future, and may occur in no more than a decade. The species cannot replenish itself rapidly due to its slow reproductive cycle. Hunting by humans is one major pressure on this tortoise, but even more damage is being done to these reptiles by the bush pig. This swine species was introduced by people, and preys on both the eggs and young of the tortoise.Madagascar farmers often carelessly start more or less uncontrolled fires to clear brush for agriculture, and these fires can spread and destroy ploughshare tortoise habitat and kill the animals themselves.

                                                       

They are also known as Ploughshare Tortoise,angonoka, angonoka tortoise, Madagascar tortoise, Madagascar angulated tortoise.
Shell size:- Maximum 44.6 cm

The Ploughshare Tortoise lives only on the dry grasslands in the northwest part of the island of Madagascar.
.The Ploughshare Tortoise is the most threatened species of land tortoises. One reason for this is their popularity as pets. Most tortoises retract into their shells to hide and protect themselves from their enemies. However, for hunters interested in selling them as pets, this instinct to hide and remain motionless in their shells at the sense of danger is a convenience because it makes them easier to catch. Many of the Ploughshare Tortoises have been captured to be sold as pets, thus reducing their population.