The African spurred tortoise is also sometimes called the Sulcata tortoise, taken from the Latin word sulcus meaning ‘furrow’ and referring to the furrows on the tortoise’s scales.
They inhabit the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and the Sahel, a transitional ecoregion of semiarid grasslands, savannas, and thorn-scrub in the African countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan.
They are the third largest tortoise species in the world and the largest species of mainland tortoise, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies them as vulnerable.
