SREL Reprint #2593

Deforestation and habitat loss for the Malagasy flat-tailed tortoise from 1963 through 1993

Stephen T. Tidd1, John E. Pinder III2, and Gary W. Ferguson1

1Department of Biology, Texas Christian University, Ft. Worth, Texas 76129 USA
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina 29802 USA

Abstract: Analyses of satellite images from 1963, 1973, 1984, and 1993 indicate a 32% reduction in the primary, dense, dry-tropical forests which are the required habitat for the Malagasy flat-tailed tortoise (Pyxis planicauda), or kapidolo. Deforestation rates are increasing, and as much as 50% of the 76,000 ha remaining in the southern portion of the kapidolo's range may be destroyed before 2010. A 50% reduction in the remaining 73,000 ha of habitat in the northern portion of its known range may occur by 2040.

Keywords: Reptilia; Testudines; Testudinidae; Pyxis planicauda; kapidolo; tortoise; Madagascar; Menabe; conservation; deforestation; habitat loss; satellite imagery

SREL Reprint #2593

Tidd, S. T., J. E. Pinder III, and G. W. Ferguson. 2001. Deforestation and habitat loss for the Malagasy flat-tailed tortoise from 1963 through 1993. Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 4:59-65.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).