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| A captive male Kinixys nogueyi, origin unknown. Males tend to be lighter in color than females. |
Kinixys nogueyi, the Western Hingeback Tortoise, was a frequent sight in the U.S. pet trade before the year 2000. Back then, K. nogueyi was considered a subspecies of Kinixys belliana. However, in 2012, Kindler et. al, through molecular work, raised Kinixys nogueyi to a full, distinct species. A few decades before that, Kinixys spekii, from central southeast and southern Africa was also eleveated to full species. Therefore, what we all knew as Bell's Hingebacks back in the 70's, 80's, and 90's are now considered four different species:
1 Kinixys nogueyi (Western Hingeback)
2. Kinixys belliana (Bell's Hingeback)
3. Kinixys zombensis (Eastern Hingeback)
4. Kinixys spekii (Speke's hingeback).
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| A captive female Kinixys nogueyi. Origin unknown. |
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| Another captive female Kinixys nogueyi, origin unknown. |
Youtube Profile, including Successful Mating Attempt:
Kinixys nogueyi in the scientific literature:
The article listed above is one of the first published that brought to light the basic natural history information of the Western Hingeback, Kinixys nogueyi.
Read the abstract, the summary of this article, here:
In this study, the sex ratio, habitat use, and diet of free-ranging Kinixys nogueyi are examined. Sex ratio and habitat use were examined in Togo and Nigeria (West Africa), and food habits only in Nigeria. Sex ratios were equal in both populations. Tortoises had clear habitat preferences in both countries, and the Nigerian population exhibited seasonal but not inter-sexual differences in habitat selection. The present study demonstrated that this species inhabits not only Guinea savannahs and relatively wet savannahs, as already reported in the literature, but also rainforest patches and hilly forests, especially in Togo. Food remains in the feces of Nigerian specimens belonged to plants and fungi as well as to animals, with inter-seasonal but not inter-sexual differences in dietary composition. In particular, there was a significant shift from a diet based mostly on animal food in the dry season towards a mainly vegetarian diet in the wet season.
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