Asian Brown Tortoise (Manouria emys) 50 cm Testudo emys H. Schlegel & S. Müller in: C. J. Temminck. 1840. Verh.-Nat. Gesch. Nederland.: 34; Pl. 4. Manouria emys Types: Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden (RMNH) 3808, 6005, 6030, 17967 (four syntypes); Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris 9422. RMNH 3808 designated lectotype by Hoogmoed and Crumly (1984), from "Sumatra, te midden der hooge bergbosschen, aan de zuidzijde van den Goenung Singalang, in de groote vallei, door welke de rivier Aneh, uit de zoogenaamde bovenlanden naar de westelijke zeekust afstroomt" (= Sumatra, in the midst of the high mountain forests, at the southern side of Gunung Singalang, in the great valley through which the River Aneh flows from the so-called uplands down to the western sea coast). Identification: The Asian brown tortoise is the largest of the land tortoises in Asia, and is an incredible animal, weighing up to 20 kilos. The shell is relatively low, the vertebral region depressed, and the subspecies found on Borneo is brown in color, the plastron somewhat paler. The outer surface of the forelimbs bear large scales, and a pair of tuberculate scales are present on the thighs; these are so large that the species is sometimes referred to as the six-footed tortoise. Natural history: The species is restricted to tropical forests in the highlands (presumably because populations from the lowlands have already been eaten by humans or disappeared due to habitat loss), and although a true tortoise, spends a lot of time in water. Although largely herbivorous, insects and frogs are also reported as eaten. Unusual among turtles and tortoises is its nest-construction and nest-guarding behaviour. It constructs a mound by sweeping leaf litter in which 23-51 hard-shelled, spherical eggs of diameter 51-54 mm are be deposited. Thereafter, it guards the nest, attacking predators who try to steal the eggs. Hatchlings, which take two to two and half months to emerge, measure 60-66 mm in carapace length. Distribution: From northeastern India, south and east to southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Indo-China, Malaysia, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

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