Video Profile of the Western Hingeback Tortoise, formerly known as the Bell's Hingeback

The Western Hingeback Tortoise, Kinixys nogueyi, was the most common of the savanna hingeback species (all except Kinixys homeana and Kinixys erosa) imported into the United States before the year 2000. After 2000, their legal import was banned by the USDA. I'm working with this species to ensure we have an established population here in the U.S. of captive born animals for many years to come. This species was formerly know as the Bell's Hingeback Tortoise before 2012, as the animals were thought to be a subspecies of Kinixys belliana. After molecular work by Kindler et. al., Kinixys nogueyi was elevated to full species status.