Nostrils on red- and yellowfoot tortoises

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Anybody else notice how the nostrils on redfoot and yellowfoot tortoises seem to be farther apart than in any other tortoises? I think they do. I wonder if this has to do with tracking food. Animals with really acute senses tend to have their paired sense organs asymmetrical or far apart, like the ear holes on owls, the barbels on catfish, and the nostrils and electrical organs on hammerhead sharks. Maybe redfoot and yellowfoot tortoises have stereoscopic smell to help them find sparse patches of food in the forest.

Does this strike anyone as plausible?

 

[ascott]

Yes, plausible....

 

[Redstrike]

Great hypothesis with previous anatomical support in other taxa... I'd think this would be pretty easy to experiment with by manipulating food piles at different locations in a lab setting.

 

[tortadise]

I absolutely think its plausable. They do portray a different tactic when I feed them, in comparison to lets say my sulcatas where they are more of a visual feeder. Using their eye sight rather than sniffing it out. Also maybe has something to do with carrion feeding torts too. Mu mountains have very asymetrical and wide spaced nostrils.

 

[EricIvins]

Anybody else notice how the nostrils on redfoot and yellowfoot tortoises seem to be farther apart than in any other tortoises? I think they do. I wonder if this has to do with tracking food. Animals with really acute senses tend to have their paired sense organs asymmetrical or far apart, like the ear holes on owls, the barbels on catfish, and the nostrils and electrical organs on hammerhead sharks. Maybe redfoot and yellowfoot tortoises have stereoscopic smell to help them find sparse patches of food in the forest.

Does this strike anyone as plausible?

I don't think so.......The Nostrils are placed relative to the shape and size of any Tortoises head, whether it be from a Redfoot or any other species, with individual differences in the same species........

All my Tortoises forage through both sight and smell........I see the Sulcatas sniffing the ground more often than anything else - But this is dependent on ambient conditions - When it rains, I see alot of the Tortoises strumming the ground waiting for Earthworms to come up........

I think with most Tortoises, food locations are learned during the active parts of the Tortoises life, and mapped out in their navigational system. They will return to those same spots year after year, during different parts of the year, depending on what they are foraging on........

In regards to both Yellowfoot and Redfoots, it has been my experience that they use their visual senses more than smell........Yellowfoots especially, since they are better adapted to low light conditions.........