Reptiles
Spider Tortoise
Pyxis arachnoides · also called spider tortoises
A spider tortoise’s shell looks almost deliberately drawn, thin yellow lines radiating outward across each dark segment in a pattern that genuinely resembles a spider’s web. That same distinctive beauty has worked against it: collectors want it as badly as its narrow strip of Madagascar coastline is disappearing, leaving the species in serious trouble on two fronts at once.
Overview
The spider tortoise, Pyxis arachnoides, is a small tortoise native to a narrow strip of dry coastal forest along southwestern Madagascar. Its shell carries a distinctive radiating web-like pattern, and a hinged plastron allows partial shell closure for extra protection.
Beautiful and badly exposed
A naturally tiny range, ongoing habitat loss, and heavy illegal collection for the pet trade have combined into a genuinely severe threat, leaving the spider tortoise facing one of the more precarious outlooks of any tortoise species alive today.
Status
Critically Endangered — protected under Malagasy and international law, with conservation efforts focused on habitat protection and combating illegal wildlife trafficking.
Spider Tortoise: common questions
Why is it called a spider tortoise?
The spider tortoise gets its common name from the pattern on its shell, where thin, radiating yellow lines against a dark background on each shell segment create a design that closely resembles a spider's web, a distinctive and fairly easily recognisable feature of the species.
Why is the spider tortoise so endangered?
The spider tortoise faces a combination of severe pressures, including a naturally narrow range restricted to a limited strip of southwestern Madagascar coastline, ongoing habitat loss within that already small area, and significant illegal collection driven by demand from the international pet trade, together pushing the species to a Critically Endangered status.
What does the hinge on a spider tortoise's shell do?
A spider tortoise has a hinged section on the underside of its shell, the plastron, that allows it to partially close the front of its shell for additional protection against predators, a specialised feature shared with only a small number of other closely related tortoise species.
What does a spider tortoise do during Madagascar's dry season?
During the driest part of the year, a spider tortoise typically becomes largely inactive, sheltering within vegetation or a burrow to conserve moisture and energy, resuming its normal feeding and activity levels only once seasonal conditions improve enough to support it.