Manouria is a genus of tortoises 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 Testudinidae (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:
Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Asian forest tortoise Manouria emys Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. impressed tortoise Manouria impressa Myanmar, southern China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Northeast India.
†Manouria sondaari – a giant land tortoise from Luzon Island, PhilippinesKarl, Hans-Volker; Staesche, Ulrich (2007). "Fossile Riesen-Landschildkröten von den Philippinen und ihre paläogeographische Bedeutung [= Fossil Giant Land Tortoises from the Philippines and their paleogeographic importance]". 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 [= Fossil Turtles from Four Countries on Three Continents: Germany, Turkey, Niger, and the Philippines]. Geologisches Jahrbuch, Reihe B, Heft 98 [= Series B, Issue 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. †Manouria punjabiensis – a fossil tortoise from Siwaliks, India †Manouria oyamai – a fossil tortoise from Ryukyu Islands, Japan †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.
References
Further reading 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).