The Hermanns Tortoise is a species of tortoise that is native to parts of Southern Europe. The different sub-species have their own individual ranges.
They are a small to medium sized tortoise that typically grows to around 20cm in length, although this can vary with sub-species.
Hermanns Tortoise Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Hermanns Tortoise Family
The Hermanns Tortoise belongs to the family Testudinidae. This is simply the family of tortoises. They are closely related to Pond Turtles and Asian Turtles.
Tortoises can vary greatly in size from the Galapagos Giant Tortoise that is over 1.2 metres to tiny tortoises that are only about 3 inches in length.
Most species of tortoise have a number of similarities. However, there are always a few exceptions to these rules.
In general, tortoises have a hard shell and they retract their head and neck directly backwards into the shell to protect them.
They are land animals that swim poorly or can’t swim at all. They typically move very slowly, with average speeds of less than 0.5km per hour.
There are 17 different genera of tortoises at the time of writing and over 60 recognised species.
Genus
The genus that the Hermanns Tortoise belongs to is called Testudo which is a genus of Mediterranean tortoises that can be found in Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia.
There are currently 5 recognised species in this genus including the Horsfield Tortoise and the Marginated Tortoise.
Over the years, there has been a huge number of species described and classified under the Testudo genus.
However, the vast majority of these entries are considered invalid. There has been a number of reasons for these invalid entries such as the re-entry of an already described species under a different name
Species
The scientific name for the Hermanns Tortoise is Testudo hermanni and there are currently two recognised sub-species.
The nominate sub-species Testudo hermanni hermanni is known as the Western Hermanns Tortoise while Testudo hermanni beottgeri is known as the Eastern Hermanns Tortoise.
Another sub-species called Testudo hermanni robertmertensi was described in 1952 but it is no longer recognised.
Hermanns Tortoise Description
The Hermanns Tortoise is a small to medium sized tortoise that typically grows to around 20cm in length, although this can vary with sub-species.
The Western sub-species is smaller and will typically grow to around 15-20cm in length but can be even smaller. However, the Eastern sub-species can reach almost 1 foot in length.
These tortoises have a contrasting black and yellow shell. This coloration is vibrant in juveniles but tends to fade and dull out as they grow. However, some adults keep the vibrant coloration.
They have a domed shell although this is less prominent in the Eastern Hermanns Tortoise.
They have a slightly hooked upper jaw and a horny beak. As they lack teeth, this helps them to break apart food.
They also have a spur (horny scale) on the base of their tail.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Hermanns Tortoise can be found throughout much of Southern Europe where there range extends along the length of the Mediterranean Sea.
These tortoises can be found from Spain with their range extending right across the Southern shoreline to places like Bulgaria and Turkey.
The distribution of the sub-species is divided with the Western Hermanns Tortoise found in South-Western Europe while the Eastern Hermanns Tortoise is found in South-Eastern Europe.
The Western sub-species can be found in places such as Spain, France and Italy. They are also well established on many of the surrounding islands such as the Balearic Islands, Sardinia and Sicily.
The Eastern Hermanns Tortoise can be found as far West as Croatia and extends Eastwards to places such as Bulgaria, Romania and parts of Turkey.
Its range extends through countries such as Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania and Greece.
These tortoises can be found in a range of habitats such as the evergreen and oak forests of the Mediterranean.
They can also be found in arid, partially vegetated regions and along grassy or rocky hillsides.