Indotestudo Elongata

GS Paper III Environment

In a first, critically endangered elongated tortoise spotted in Aravallis.

About Indotestudo elongata

Another Name: The elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata) is also known as Sal Forest Tortoise.
Habitat: It is widely distributed over eastern as well as northern India and Southeast Asia.
- The tortoise, found in the Sal deciduous and hilly evergreen forests, is distributed across Southeast Asia from northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh in the west, eastward through Myanmar, Thailand, and all of Indochina, north to Guangxi Province of China and south to Peninsular Malaysia.
Conservation Status:
- IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
- CITES: Appendix II
- Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972: Schedule IV
Threat: Hunted for food, local use such as decorative masks and international wildlife trade.

Aravalli Range

Formation: Aravalli Range is one of the oldest fold residual mountains, formed from the convergence of tectonic plates during the Proterozoic Era (2500-541 million years ago).
Extent & Location: It extends from Raisina Hills in New Delhi to Khedbrahma and Palanpur in Gujarat,in a south-west direction, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Gujarat.
- About 80% of this length, which is approximately 550 kilometers, is located in the state of Rajasthan.
- Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat have 20% of the share in the terrain.
Ranges: Sambhar Sirohi Range and Sambhar Khetri Range in Rajasthan.
Highest peak: Guru Shikhar in Mount Abu (1,722 m).
Major Flowing Rivers: Banas, Luni , Sahibi etc
Major Minerals: Cooper, Zinc, Marble, Lead, Silver etc
Tribal Communities: Bhil, Bhil-Meena, Meena, Garasia, etc

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