Kinixys belliana
Silhouette: Andrew A. Farke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Bell's hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys belliana), also known commonly as Bell's eastern hinged tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to central Africa. It has the hinge that characterizes all tortoises in the genus Kinixys. There are no recognized subspecies.
Both the specific name, belliana, and the common name are in honor of English zoologist Thomas Bell. Bell's hinge-back tortoise is a medium-sized light brown tortoise. They can grow up to 22 cm. On the back of its shell, the tortoise has a 90 degree hinge which, when closed, can protect its rear legs and tail from predators. This broad band of flexible connective tissue is located between the 4th and 5th costals and the 7th and 8th peripherals in adults.
The scutes on its slightly domed and elongated shell typically have a radiating pattern of dark patches, though these can fade. Adult males have a concave belly. Most Bell's hinge-backs have five claws on each forefoot. In its habitat, Bell's hinge-back tortoise favours tropical and sub-tropical savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa.
It was traditionally considered to be the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Addis Ababa Zoo | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Murchison Falls National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Bell’s Hingeback Tortoise sighting in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 8 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and September–October
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Bell’s Hingeback Tortoise in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, July and November–January, the lowest months. Those are among Murchison Falls National Park's wettest months, with about 160 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in January.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bell’s Hingeback Tortoise sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Murchison Falls National Park, in our data
Murchison Falls National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Bell’s Hingeback Tortoise sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bell’s Hingeback Tortoise is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Murchison Falls National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
