Manouria is a genus of in the family Testudinidae. The genus was erected by John Edward Gray in 1854.
Transitional adaptations
Manouria is either the most basal or second most basal member of the family
Tortoise (its phylogenetic position is adjacent to that of
Gopherus).
As a result, while tortoises are primarily terrestrial, the genus
Manouria is a model for the evolutionary transition to terrestriality, as it still has an affinity for aquatic environments, and has retained some ancestral adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle while losing others. The Asian forest tortoise (
Manouria emys) has been observed attempting to feed on submerged food items, albeit unsuccessfully. Additionally, the species grasps food item with its jaws as in aquatic or semiaquatic taxa, as opposed to first making contact with the tongue as with all other tortoise species (with the possible exception of
Gopherus).
Species
The following five
species are recognized as being valid, two of which are extant,
[" Manouria". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.] and three of which are extinct:
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| Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. |
| Myanmar, southern China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Northeast India. |
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† Manouria sondaari – a giant land tortoise from Luzon Island, Philippines
[Karl, Hans-Volker; Staesche, Ulrich (2007). " Fossile Riesen-Landschildkröten von den Philippinen und ihre paläogeographische Bedeutung =". Geologischesahrbuch A 160: 171–197. ( Manouria sondaari, new species). (in German with abstract in English).][Staesche, Ulrich (coordinator) (2007). Fossile Schildkröten aus vier Ländern in drei Kontinenten: Deutschland, Türkei, Niger, Philippen =. Geologisches Jahrbuch, Reihe B, Heft 98 =. 197 pp. . http://www.schweizerbart.de/publications/detail/artno/186029800 (in German).] however, Rhodin et al. (2015) transferred this species to the genus Megalochelys.
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† Manouria punjabiensis – a fossil tortoise from Sivalik Hills, India
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† Manouria oyamai – a fossil tortoise from Ryukyu Islands, Japan
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† Manouria morla Chroust, Szczygielski & Luján, 2025 – early Miocene, Czech Republic
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Manouria.
Further reading
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Gray, J. E. (1854). "Description of a New Genus and some New Species of Tortoises". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1852: 133–135. ( Manouria, new genus, p. 133).
