Differentiating Male and Female Geochelone platynota (Burmese Star Tortoise)

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Differentiating Male and Female Geochelone platynota (Burmese Star Tortoise) - Chris Tabaka, DVM

Perhaps the rarest and one of the most beautiful of the star type tortoises is the Burmese star tortoise, Geochelone platynota. Relatively unknown until the past decade, this attractive relative of the more common Indian star tortoise is now found in small numbers in zoological and private collections. Largely due to Myanmar's common border with China and the recent flood of chelonians into the southern China medicinal, food, and pet markets, these animals have also found their way into the high end "trade" thus devastating wild populations.

References:

Society for Conservation Biology 16th Annual Meeting July 14-July 19 2002 co-hosted by DICE and the British Ecological Society, Abstracts for Symposium Twelve, "Protected areas, conservation, and people within a rural society: case studies from Myanmar"

Behind the Scenes: A Tortoise Survey of the Shwe Settaw Wildlife Sanctuary, Myanmar - Dan Sterantino

The following pictorial will graphically show how to sex this species.

In the pictures below, note that the tail tip goes well past the tip of the cloacal scute in the male on the left. In the female on the right, the tail tip barely reaches this landmark.


Male *Geochelone platynota*	Female *Geochelone platynota*

The pictures below show one of the classic features I utilize in sexing some species of tortoises. In males, due to the size and mass of the tail, it is most often held to the side. Note this in the male on the left. In females, the tail will often be held just a bit off midline or even straight out such as the two pictures on the right. While far from diagnostic, this is another tool that can be utilized in many species of tortoise.


Male *Geochelone platynota*	Female *Geochelone platynota*	Female *Geochelone platynota*

While there is a slight concavity in this male juvenile, it is barely notable in the picture on the left. However, the tail's mass is quite evident as compared to the female on the right


Male *Geochelone platynota*	Female *Geochelone platynota*

The following two pictures show the differences between the cloacal scutes between these two animals. Whereas the scutes form a wide opening in the male on the left with the tips pointing almost laterally, these scutes form an inverted solid V in the female on the right with the tips pointing straight back.