NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Madagascan Spider Tortoise
Pyxis arachnoides Bell, 1827
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Spider tortoise
Klaus Rudloff · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The spider tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae that is endemic to Madagascar and is one of only two species in the genus Pyxis.
Wikipedia contributors, Spider tortoise; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:39:09.625488+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pyxis arachnoides Bell, 1827
- Name authority
- Bell, 1827
- Common name
- Madagascan Spider Tortoise
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Testudinidae
- Genus
- Pyxis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyTestudinoidea
- familyTestudinidae
- genusPyxis
- speciesPyxis arachnoides Bell, 1827
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pyxis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Madagascan Flat-tailed TortoisePyxis planicauda (Grandidier, 1867) | TestudinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pyxis madagascariensis Lesson, 1831 Lesson, 1831 | synonym |
| Pyxis arachnoides var. oblonga Gray, 1869 Gray, 1869 | synonym |
| Pyxis aranoides Gray, 1831 Gray, 1831 | synonym |
| Pyxis arachnoides matzi Bour, 1978 Bour, 1978 | synonym |
| Pyxoides brygooi Vuillemin & Domergue, 1972 Vuillemin & Domergue, 1972 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Pyxis&species=arachnoides Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4QYL7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.