CreatureData

Angonoka tortoise

Astrochelys yniphora (Vaillant, 1885)

CRCritically Endangeredturtles and tortoises

The angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora), also called the Ploughshare tortoise, is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, belonging to the family Testudinidae. It is a medium-sized tortoise with an adult body mass from 8 to 10.3 kg and a representative weight of 8.8 kg.

Angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora)
Photo: Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the angonoka tortoise

It reaches sexual maturity at 20 years, lays 4.3 eggs per clutch with 4 clutches per year, and its eggs incubate for 239 days. The species is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and has a lifespan of 75 years, with values up to 100 years.

Weight
8 kg – 10.3 kgsrc for Weight
Length
up to 43 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
75 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
100 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
239 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1 – 6src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
15 years – 20 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
4src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the angonoka tortoise

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora)
NasserHalaweh · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora)
Internet Archive Book Images · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the angonoka tortoise live?

Not recorded

What is the angonoka tortoise?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora) is a critically endangered species of tortoise severely threatened by poaching for the illegal pet trade. It is endemic to Madagascar. It is also known as the angonoka, ploughshare tortoise, Madagascar tortoise, or Madagascar angulated tortoise. There may be fewer than 400 of these tortoises left in the wild. It is found only in the dry forests of the Baly Bay area of northwestern Madagascar, near the town of Soalala (including Baie de Baly National Park). A captive-breeding facility was established in 1986 by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now the Durrell Trust) in collaboration with the Water and Forests Department. In 1996, 75 tortoises were stolen, which later appeared for sale in the Netherlands. The project was ultimately successful, achieving 224 captive-bred juveniles out of 17 adults in 2004. Project Angonoka developed conservation plans that involved local communities making firebreaks, along with the creation of a park to protect the tortoise and the forests. Monitoring of the angonoka tortoise in the global pet trade has also continued to be advocated.

From the Wikipedia article “Angonoka tortoise” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angonoka_tortoise&oldid=1384965143), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the angonoka tortoise endangered?

The angonoka tortoise is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species. What the categories mean.

How is the angonoka tortoise classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderTestudines
  5. familyTestudinidae
  6. genusAstrochelys
  7. SpeciesAstrochelys yniphora (Vaillant, 1885)

Synonyms Angonoka yniphora, Geochelone yniphora, Testudo hyniphora, Testudo yniphora

Other names and names in other languages (33)
  • AngonokaEnglish
  • Madagascan (Plowshare or ploughshare) tortoiseEnglish
  • Madagascan Plowshare tortoiseEnglish
  • Madagascar angulated tortoiseEnglish
  • Madagascar angulated tortoiseEnglish
  • Madagascar tortoiseEnglish
  • Madagascar tortoiseEnglish
  • Ploughshare tortoiseEnglish
  • Ploughshare tortoiseEnglish
  • Ploughshare tortoiseEnglish
  • Plowshare tortoiseEnglish
  • سلحفاة أنغونوكاArabic
  • želva angonokaCzech
  • Madagassische SchnabelbrustschildkröteGerman
  • Tortuga de MadagascarSpanish
  • Tortuga Globulosa MalagacheSpanish
  • Tortue à socFrench
  • Tortue à éperonFrench
  • Tortue à plastron éperonnéFrench
  • Tortue à soc de MadagascarFrench
  • Tortue de MadagascarFrench
  • angonoka teknősHungarian
  • ヘサキリクガメJapanese
  • AngonokaMalagasy
  • Madagaskar-schildpadDutch
  • żółw madagaskarskiPolish
  • Tartaruga-aradoPortuguese
  • Tartaruga-angonokaPortuguese
  • Tartaruga-angulosa-de-madagascarPortuguese
  • Tartaruga-de-MadagascarPortuguese
  • АнгонокаRussian
  • Мадагаскарская клювогрудая черепахаRussian
  • 安哥洛卡象龜Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the angonoka tortoise

Other species in the same genus Astrochelys.

CompareAngonoka tortoise vs Rayed tortoiseAngonoka tortoise vs Astrochelys rogerbouri

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the angonoka tortoise?

The angonoka tortoise is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup. It belongs to the order Testudines and the family Testudinidae.

How heavy is the angonoka tortoise?

Adults weigh from 8 to 10.3 kg, with a representative body mass of 8.8 kg, which places it in the medium size class.

Is the angonoka tortoise endangered?

Yes. It is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

How long does the angonoka tortoise live?

Its lifespan is 75 years, and sources report values up to 100 years.

How many eggs does the angonoka tortoise lay?

It lays 4.3 eggs per clutch and has 4 clutches per year. The eggs incubate for 239 days.

At what age does the angonoka tortoise mature?

It reaches sexual maturity at 20 years.

What are other names for the angonoka tortoise?

It is also called the Angonoka, Plowshare tortoise, Ploughshare tortoise, Madagascar tortoise and Madagascar angulated tortoise.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/angonoka-tortoise

MLA

“Angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/angonoka-tortoise.

BibTeX
@misc{angonoka_tortoise_2026,
  title = {Angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/angonoka-tortoise},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}