padloper

padloper (PAD-lop-uhr) - n., any of five species of small land tortoises of South Africa.


And they really mean small -- most grow to no more than 4 inches in length, and the speckled padloper rarely breaks 3 inches and is the smallest species of tortoise. The five were all formerly in genus Homopus, but three have been split off into genus Chersobius -- all are also known generically as Cape tortoises. Their size makes them attractive in the pet trade, though some species are hard to care for due to their specialized diet. The name is from Afrikaans, literally "path-walker", due to their habit of making tiny pathways through vegetation. A common padloper:


Thanks, WikiMedia!

---L.