Added 30 January 2014.

Testudo

The popular Mediterranean Tortoises

Although native to only the southern parts of Europe, some of the Testudo species have become the best-loved reptiles in more northerly parts of that continent, as well as in North America. For a long time, Testudo species were the traditional mainstay of the tortoise pet trade, at least in Europe. However, callous practices in exporting the tortoises - which often led to the death of most of the exported animals - led to the banning of this trade. This was understandable but unfortunate, because there is evidence that this did not help the wild populations in their native habitat at all. Instead, lacking any economic value, they have been regarded as a nuisance and killed in barbaric ways [Alderton], notably in Greece. The trade in wild animals should of course be subject to welfare regulation, but the fate of non-traded Testudo should give any lawgivers pause for thought before rushing in to legislate further.

Telling the popular Testudo apart

Although at a superficial glance the species that are regularly kept as pets appear very similar in shape and coloration, it is not difficult to tell them apart with a brief inspection. T. graeca can be easily distinguished from T. hermanni by the supracaudal scute at the back of its shell: in T. hermanni it is a single scute, in T. graeca it is divided. T. marginata appears quite similar to T. graeca, but its marginals are somewhat flared outwards at the rear, which is not the case in T. graeca. T. horsfieldi (see also below) is easy to distinguish from the other three as its shell is both rounder and lower, and it only has four claws on each foot.

T. kleinmanni is rarely if ever seen in captivity. It is a CITES I protected species and in any case is very hard to care for properly in captivity, needing absolute dryness. It seems important here to stress that while it may be tempting, for the best of reasons, to buy up one of these tortoises in North African markets if only to save it, you will find yourself in a lot of difficulty with the law and will probably be unable to keep it alive for long in a temperate climate such as the UK or parts of Northern Europe and America. It is only to be hoped that local people and the authorities can find a way of working together that benefits all parties, human and tortoise.

Keeping Mediterranean tortoises

Knowledge of the husbandry of Testudo tortoises has come a long way since the days when they were left out in the garden and offered lettuce on a regular basis. The role of shelter, whether indoors or outdoors, has been recognised: the tortoise's shell is not a house any more than a human's hair on its head constitutes a helmet. Diet should be more varied than just salad, and ultraviolet light may benefit the animals. Hibernation at the outset of winter, in protected circumstances to guard against weather, careless humans or predatory animals, is important. Please see the Bibliography at the end for a list of current books which I have added due to the popularity of Mediterranean tortoises.

In sum, if you wish to keep one of these animals you will (a) need to buy one directly or indirectly from a breeder, which must include an Article 10 sales certificate given to you by the vendor, and (b) need to read a reasonable amount about their care, doing so before you buy one. Also it should be noted that not everybody's garden is suited to keeping a tortoise – some people's circumstances may require a so-called “tortoise table” for indoor keeping instead. Remember too that these are long-lived animals that may even outlast you. Finally, tortoises, while wonderful, are not the simplest reptile pet. If you just want a reptile and prefer simplicity of keeping, consider getting a leopard gecko or cornsnake instead. Mediterranean tortoises are also more expensive than the more common lizard or snake – expect to pay around £100-£200 for one.

T. horsfieldi

There is some doubt now as to whether T. horsfieldi should be classified as a Testudo species, and many newer literature sources refer to it as Agrionemys horsfieldi. We have included it here as it is usually referred to as T. horsfieldi in older works, and the EMBL database considers it to be such. One caresheet in my possession (author unknown) says that Agrionemys was considered invalid after T. horsfieldi was found to hybridise with T. hermanni. Nevertheless T. horsfieldi does have somewhat different requirements in captivity to the other Testudo tortoises.

	QUICK INDEX
T. antakyensis	T. flavominimaralis	T. graeca, Spur-Thighed Tortoise
T. hermanni, Hermann's Tortoise	T. [A.] horsfieldi, Horsfield's Tortoise	T. kleinmanni, Egyptian Tortoise
T. marginata, Marginated Tortoise	T. weissingeri	T. werneri

Species Name	Common Name	Location	Size	Notes
T. antakyensis		S Turkey	?"	Now considered by some to be a variant of T. graeca: see Reptile Database entry.
T. flavominimaralis		Tunisia	?"	Considered by some to be a variant of T. graeca: see EMBL database entry. KKS do not accept this.
T. graeca	Spur-Thighed Tortoise, Spurred Tortoise, Greek Tortoise	Mediterranean basin, Balkans, Asia Minor, Middle East and Caucasus	35cm /14"	Distinguished from T. hermanni by its (usually) undivided supracaudal scute at the back of the shell: also there is a tubercle (or "spur", hence the common name) on the back of each leg, which the other Testudo species lack. The "Greek tortoise" is in fact found nowhere in Greece: the graeca species name is derived from the apparent likeness of the pattern to that of a Greek vase. Carapace: convex; lengthened nuchal scale; 5 vertebrals, 4 costals, 11 marginals, 1 axilar and 2 inguinals. Scalation: supracaudal usually undivided, with a horny tip on the tail. Head has obvious supranasals. Wide frontal and complete prefrontals. Large imbricated scales on front limbs in 4-5 longitudinal rows. 5 claws at the front, 4 at the back. Coloration: see subspecies entries.
T. g. graeca		Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya	16cm (m), 20cm (f)	Coloration: carapace brighter than in other areas, being pale yellow or oliveish, with scutes bordered with black and often with a black spot in the centre. Plastron is yellowish, flecked with black. The black pattern diminishes with age.
T. g. anamurensis		S Turkey (coast)		No details yet available.
T. g. cyrenaica				No details yet available.
T. g. ibera		C Balkans to Black Sea, Turkey, S Caucasus to Iran		Pursall divides this subspecies into the western and eastern races. The western race (N Greece and NW Turkey) has the basic pattern. In the eastern race, the "C" is broken up to form radial lines. Claws in both races are as for T. g. graeca.
T. g. nikolskii		Georgia, Russia		No details yet available.
T. g. soussensis		Morocco		No details yet available.
T. g. terrestris		Libya, Israel, Egypt and Syria		The "C" is sometimes in the form of radial lines, but normally almost non-existent, leaving just a central mark. The hind legs are light on the inside surfaces and dark on the outside, with usually a sharp division between the two. The front claws and inside two rear claws are normally parchment-coloured, the outside two rear claws being dark brown.
T. g. zarudnyi		C Iran and Afghanistan		Pursall divides this subspecies into the western and eastern races. The eastern race can be distinguished by the flaring of the carapace over the legs in adults. In both races the "C" extends to cover all or most of the scute: the claws are black or very dark brown and the scales very dark over the whole body.
T. hermanni	Hermann's Tortoise			A reasonably common species around the northern part of the Mediterranean basin: can be distinguished from T. graeca (with which it is sometimes sympatric) by its divided supracaudal scale.
T. h. hermanni		S Italy and Balkan peninsula S of Danube
T. h. boettgeri		Bulgaria
T. h. robertmertensi		S France, E Spain, Mallorca, Corsica and Sardinia		Distinguished by a yellow patch behind the eye: not considered by all authorities as a valid subspecies (see EMBL database entry). See also British Chelonia Group article.
T. [Agrionemys] horsfieldi	Horsfield's Tortoise, Russian Tortoise [D: Fr: Tortue d'Hermann]	SE Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, S Kazakhstan, Takjikstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, NE Iran, Afghanistan, N Pakistan, NW Baluchistan, NW China		See introduction for remarks on the classification of this species. For a while this species was assigned to its own genus, Agrionemys: however, it was found that horsfieldi could produce viable hybrids with graeca ibera, suggesting a generic relationship, and so this tortoise is once again considered a valid Testudo species. T. horsfieldi is found mainly in steppe country that is subject to harsh winters and very hot summers: as a consequence it digs burrows and hibernates during the coldest part of the year and aestivates during the hottest. Has been known to produce viable hybrids with T. hermanni and T. graeca: see EMBL database entry for details. The different species can be fairly easily differentiated, however: T. horsfieldi is lower and somewhat more rounded in appearance than T. graeca and T. hermanni, and has small spurs on its thighs. Description: low domed carapace, oval in adults and almost completely round in hatchlings: four claws on each limb.
T. h. horsfieldii		Most of the species range (see exceptions below)
T. h. bogdanovi
T. h. kazachstanica		Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
T. h. kuznetzovi
T. h. rustamovi		Iran (Kopet-Dag mountain region)
T. h. terbishi
T. kleinmanni	Egyptian Tortoise	N Africa (Libya and Egypt)		Some authorities place this in the genus Pseudotestudo, but see remarks in EMBL database entry.
T. marginata	Marginated Tortoise	Greece (S of Mt Olympus) and Aegean Islands (Corfu, Skyros, Poros and Paros): Sardinia		??.
T. m. marginata		Greece (S of Mt Olympus) and Aegean Islands (Corfu, Skyros, Poros and Paros):
T. m. sarda		Sardinia		There is some disagreement over the origin of the subspecies on this island: some sources claim that the tortoises were originally brought to the island by German soldiers during WWII, but others believe them to have been there for longer.
T. weissingeri		Greece		Formerly considered part of T. marginata: some authorities hold it to be a dwarf variant of the latter.
T. werneri		Israel, Egypt		First described in 2001: found mainly in Israel. Considered closely related to T. kleinmanni (see EMBL database entry).

Biography

Turtles and Tortoises of the World, David Alderton, Blandford, London 1999.

Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa, H Hermann Schleich, Werner Kästle and Klaus Kabisch, Koeltz Scientific Books,Koenigstein, Germany 1996. Outstanding and detailed guide to herpetofauna of the area: here provided details for T. graeca and T. kleinmanni.

Lurche und Kriechtiere Europas [Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe], Engelmann, Fritzsche, Günther and Obst, Enke, Leipzig,1985. Taxonomic data now somewhat dated (revised edition may have been published in 1993), but still very broad and useful guide. "Europe" in this volume is defined somewhat more widely than in the English work by Arnold et al.

Schildkröten, Gerhard Müller, Eugen Ullmer, Stuttgart 1995.

Tortoises: Natural History, Care and Breeding in Captivity, Jerry G Walls, TFH

Mediterranean Tortoises, Brian Pursall, TFH. A fairly thorough book on the husbandry of Testudo species, focusing on T. graeca. Highfield takes issue with Pursall's claims that Testudo do not normally need standing water to drink from, so the reader should be aware of this disagreement. I would say that the book is worth reading in conjunction with other material.

Links

Tortoise Trust