K. spekii has an elongated carapace, up to 20 cm (7.9 in) in straight length, which is distinctly flattened, allowing it to seek refuge in rock crevices and under logs (the co-occurring pancake tortoise is even more flattened). Its carapace has a weak, disrupted medial keel, and posterior marginals that are neither strongly serrated nor reverted. This species has a well-developed hinge at the rear end of the upper part of its shell, permitting the protection of its rear legs after they have been retracted.[4] The male has a notably longer tail than the female of this species, and the tails end in a spine. Females possess a flat plastron, yet males have a more concave one.[2]
K. spekii inhabits savannahs and dry bush with rocky areas. It tends to inhabit more wooded areas during the dry season, and to move out into the savannahs when the summer rains come.[citation needed]
Diet
K. spekii feeds on small flowers, leaves, grass, herbs, succulents and fungi. It also eats snails and other small invertebrates, having a special preference for millipedes.[4]
Reproduction
Females of K. spekii lay a small clutch of two to four eggs in the summer.[citation needed]
^ abTabaka, Chris, DVM (2003). "Differentiating Male and Female Kinixys spekii (Speck's [sic] hingeback tortoise)". World Chelonian Trust. Chelonia.org
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Kinixys spekii, p. 249).
Gray JE (1863). "Notice of a new Species of Kinixys and other Tortoises from Central Africa". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Third Series12: 381-382. (Kinixys spekii, new species).