Common ravens (Corvus corax) are a major predator on the threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus [= Xerobates] agassizii). Large numbers of juvenile tortoise shells have been found beneath known raven nests and perches; many shells that show evidence consistent with raven predation have been found sporadically throughout the range of the tortoise; significant proportional decreases in juvenile siz...

Two species of tortoises are naturally presented in the territory of Bulgaria – Testudo graeca (Spurthighed tortoise) and Testudo hermanni (Spurtailed tortoise)(Pic1). Both are endangered species, included in the Red List of (IUCN-2003). –Testudo graeca is in Vulnerable category and Testudo hermanni in Low risk category. The species are also included in the Bern Convention, ratified from Bulgar...

We report the unprecedented Lapita exploitation and subsequent extinction of large megafauna tortoises (?Meiolania damelipi) on tropical islands during the late Holocene over a 281,000 km2 region of the southwest Pacific spanning from the Vanuatu archipelago to Viti Levu in Fiji. Zooarchaeological analyses have identified seven early archaeological sites with the remains of this distinctive hor...

Little is known about analgesia in lower vertebrates such as the Speke's hinged tortoise (Kinixy's spekii), yet of late they are increasingly being adopted as pets. The effects of morphine (5, 7.5, 10 and 20 mg/kg), pethidine (10, 20, and 50 mg/kg) and naloxone (5 mg/kg) on nociception induced by the formalin test (12.5%, 100 microL) were studied in the Speke's hinged tortoise. Formalin induced...

Efforts to evaluate the efficacy of translocation as a conservation tool have mostly been inadequate, particularly for reptiles and amphibians, leading many biologists to discount translocation as a viable management option. Nevertheless, with two-thirds of the world’s tortoise and freshwater turtle species at risk, translocation may be one of the few remaining options for re-establishing extir...

Sugar beet crop has recently become the first source of sugar production in Egypt, followed by cane. The tortoise beetle,