The spider tortoise is a small land tortoise with a shell featuring a light line pattern on a dark background. It lives only in Madagascar.
The spider tortoise differs from other turtles by its movable part of the lower shell, which allows it to completely close off from danger. It is important for nature because it disperses plant seeds in Madagascar forests.
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Worker
Elders
Foraging among accumulated fallen leaves on the forest floor.
Bro
birth time
Taxons
seeds, berries, fruits
Hot and almost no precipitation
if born as {name}
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
age
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
birth date
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Legs count
Close
was
days
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
climbing
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
adult
Maturity
primary food sources
plant
teeth
burrow
Potential Habitat
About health
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
scrub
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Repro interval
results
Mass
Plastron color
young shoots and leaves of plants
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
from 130 grams to 0.5 kilograms, 0.35 – 0.8 meters
Carapace size
Colors
Sex
{name} birthday
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
Always hot
No results found
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
On the map
young shoots, sprouts, green plant shoots
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
all life stages
Female ♀
young shoots and sprouts
Upcoming birthdays
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
birth year
Maturity
Desert and dry shrubs
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
Plastron count
sq mm
yr
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Wanderers
How similar?
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Moving up vertical surfaces like trunks or rocks to reach food.
fruits
from birth to adulthood
Lifespan average
nectar
What do they eat?
leaves
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Carapace color
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
leaf litter
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
world of Afrotropics
end of lifespan
hot, there is a dry season, trees shed their leaves
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Duration
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
This is me
Steppe
Gamers
Pets
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
terrestrial shrubland
wk
My size?
Tropical dry broadleaf forest
terrestrial
Hot steppe
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
Carapace count
sweet nectar and flower pollen
{name} jubilee
Asexual
swap
terrestrial shrub habitats — maquis, chaparral, bush
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Rascals
Where do they take shelter?
Head color
celebrated their {n} birthday
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Litter size
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
very hot and almost no precipitation
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
foraging
grazing
°C
Not specified
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
embryo
Zucchini
herbivore
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Feeds by cropping or nibbling low-growing vegetation or algae.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap