The Pancake Tortoise, Malacochersus tornieri (family Testudinidae), is a small, flat, and soft tortoise of up to about 17.8 cm carapace length, rarely weighing more than 500 g. It has a flat and pliable shell resulting from limited bony shell development with a covering of thin keratinous scutes. The flat shape and shell pliability are fundamental adaptations which have enabled the species to successfully utilize rock crevice microhabitats in East Africa. The species occurs widely but disjunctly in Kenya and Tanzania, and marginally in northern Zambia. It is associated with isolated rocky hills and outcrops (kopjes) within its range, where it hides in crevices between and under exfoliating slabs of pre-Cambrian rock (gneiss). Sexual maturity is reached at the age of 5-9 years, depending on sex and growth rate, and a life span of over 25 years in captivity has been reported. Normally only one egg is laid annually, and rarely two per clutch. The status of M. tornieri populations in the wild indicates that abundance varies from one area to another and appears to be a function of microhabitat quality and level of local exploitation. The listing of the species on CITES Appendix II, while helpful, has also added to human overexploitation abuse, as it stimulated illegal off-take to supply the international live animal trade. In 2000, a proposal to uplist the Pancake Tortoise from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I was unsuccessful, but is again being reconsidered. In Tanzania, a zero export quota for wild-caught animals and restrictions on the size and number of captive-produced juveniles that could be exported were retained. The proposal to uplist the species to CITES Appendix I is strongly recommended. The species is highly vulnerable to extinction by virtue of its restricted distribution, specialized habitat requirements, low densities and fragmented populations, reduced reproductive potential, and overexploitation for the international live animal trade. distribution. -Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia. Occurs disjunctly from north central Kenya southward into the southeastern part of the country. In Tanzania it occurs disjunctly from the southern shores of Lake Victoria into the Maasai Steppe and further south in the Somalia-Masai and the Zambesian Floristic Regions. In Zambia it has only been reported from a single site in northern Nakonde District. synonymy. -Testudo tornieri Siebenrock 1903, Testudo (Malacochersus) tornieri, Malacochersus tornieri, Testudo loveridgii Boulenger 1920. subsPECiEs. -None currently recognized. stAtus.

While the international pet trade and habitat destruction have been extensively discussed as major threats to the survival of the pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri), the impact of climate change on the species remains unknown. In this study, we used species distribution modelling to predict the current and future distribution of pancake tortoises in Zambezian and Somalian biogeographical regions. We used 224 pancake tortoise occurrences obtained from Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia to estimate suitable and stable areas for the pancake tortoise in all countries present in these regions. We also used a protected area network to assess how many of the suitable and stable areas are protected for the conservation of this critically endangered species. Our model predicted the expansion of climatically suitable habitats for pancake tortoises from four countries and a total area of 90,668.75 km2 to ten countries in the future and an area of 343,459.60–401,179.70 km2. The model also showed that a more significant area of climatically suitable habitat for the species lies outside of the wildlife protected areas. Based on our results, we can predict that pancake tortoises may not suffer from habitat constriction. However, the species will continue to be at risk from the international pet trade, as most of the identified suitable habitats remain outside of protected areas. We suggest that efforts to conserve the pancake tortoise should not only focus on protected areas but also areas that are unprotected, as these comprise a large proportion of the suitable and stable habitats available following predicted future climate change.

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We observed out‐of‐crevice behaviours on seven pancake tortoises (Malacochersus tornieri Siebenrock, 1903) at six sites in the Tarangire–Manyara Ecosystem. Most out‐of‐crevice activities were observed during the wet season and late morning, which included basking, walking, foraging and suspected courtship fighting. Predation was evidenced on six live tortoises and two carcasses, with suspects being mesocarnivores, birds and lizards. Future studies should understand the effects of seasonal resource availability on behaviours and life history aspects, as well as predators and predation rates experienced by pancake tortoises.