Also known as grassland turtle, Central Asian turtle, dried turtle, turtle cover, Taxipaka (Uygur) and Taspaka (Kazak), they belong to Tortoise, Tortoise and Tortoise subfamily. There are three kinds of tortoises in China: Burmese tortoises, which are distributed in Guangxi; Concave turtle, distributed in Hainan and Yunnan provinces; Tortoise with four claws is the only northern species in China, which is only distributed in Huocheng County, Xinjiang. In foreign countries, four-claw tortoises are mainly distributed in the desert area of southern Kazakhstan and the piedmont area of Tianshan Mountain, and also distributed in India, Pakistan and Iran.
The distribution area is located in the piedmont desert zone of Akras Mountain, a branch of Tianshan Mountain, including the desert grasslands and dry fields below Yichega Mountain, Aksu, October, Qingshuihe, Sangong, Lucaogou, Shaerbulak 1 000 m, which are distributed sporadically. Among them, the Kantomanton area at the junction of Lucaogou, Sangong and Shaerbulak has the largest distribution. According to the herdsmen's reaction, four-clawed tortoises have been seen in Heishantou, Gongnaisi, south of Kashi River. Foreign countries are distributed in the desert of southern Kazakhstan, southwest Tianshan Mountain and the east coast of the Black Sea. It is also distributed in western Iran and northwestern India.
The four-claw turtle has been named for more than 1884 years. Four-claw tortoises were discovered in China in 1950s, and the earliest specimens were collected in the Biology Department of Xinjiang University. 1973, Zhao reported a new record of turtles in Xinjiang-four-claw tortoise. Since the 1960s, due to the intensification of human activities, the destruction of ecological environment and indiscriminate hunting, the number of four-claw tortoises has dropped sharply. 1983 With the approval of the People's Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Huocheng Four-claw Tortoise Nature Reserve was established. 1988 is listed as a national first-class protected animal. At present, the distribution is limited to the four-claw tortoise nature reserve, with a distribution range of about 300 square kilometers, which is rare and endangered.
The tortoise shell with four claws is high, round and arched, and its body length is slightly larger than its width. Adult crustaceans are yellow and olive, and larvae are slightly grass green. The carapace consists of 36 symmetrically arranged shields with irregular black spots, which can be clearly divided into rings. The epigastric armor is black and consists of 1 1 symmetrically arranged shields with yellow edges. Tortoise shell pattern is beautiful and constitutes protective color, which is beneficial to concealment in desert grassland environment. The head is small, with large scales symmetrically arranged on it. The limbs are thick and cylindrical, and the horny scales are arranged on them like tiles. Each limb has four claws, which are sharp and sharp, hence the name four-claw turtle. There is no web between the four claws, so the head and limbs can be hidden in the nail cavity when in danger or at rest. It is easy to distinguish between men and women. The female turtle tail is short, the tail handle is thick, and the male turtle tail is slender and prominent. Females of the same age are bigger than males, and females are 20mm longer than females, while males are only10 mm. Adult male turtles weigh about 400 ~ 600 g, and females weigh1000 ~1500 g..