Testudo graeca Linnaeus 1758 (Eastern Subspecies Clades: Testudo g. armeniaca, Testudo g. buxtoni, Testudo g. ibera, Testudo g. terrestris, Testudo g. zarudnyi) – Armenian Tortoise, Zagros Tortoise, Anatolian Tortoise, Levantine Tortoise, Kerman Tortoise

Abstract

The eastern clades of the Spur-thighed Tortoise, Testudo graeca (Family Testudinidae), include small to medium-sized (maximum straightline carapace lengths [SCL] typically ≤ 30 cm, but possibly up to 46.0 cm) tortoise subspecies clades native to the Balkans (southeastern Europe) and southwestern Asia. Within this vast geographic distribution, the species occupies Mediterranean, Mediterranean-continental, and steppe climates, as well as the margins of hot deserts. In southeastern Turkey and Iran, it reaches elevations of 2500 m, the record for the species. Testudo graeca is characterized by the presence of a small conical keratinous spur on each posterior thigh, present in all eastern clade subspecies. The eastern clades show a very high degree of phenotypic variability, ranging from almost entirely black individuals (typically, but not exclusively in the north of its range) to yellowish (flavistic) individuals (primarily in southern Israel). They also show variability in the structure and shape of the carapace, ranging from flatter steppe forms to domed, higher-shelled forms. In general, adult females are slightly larger and heavier than males in most eastern clade regions and studied populations; however, in approximately 30% of surveyed populations across the range, males reach a similar or larger average size, and the few largest individuals recorded of the species are males. Female mean SCLs among the eastern subspecies clades range from 14.5-21.9 cm per region or population, with mean body mass ranging from ca. 700-2250 g (average ca. 1630 g); male mean SCLs range from 13.5-24.1 cm with mean body mass ranging from ca. 420-2700 g (average ca. 1560 g). Male dimorphic characters include a proportionally longer and thicker tail and plastral concavity. Females produce 1-3 clutches of 2-19 eggs annually between May and July. The species is still relatively common and widespread in a large part of its range. Some populations have declined drastically since the second half of the 20th century (as in Azerbaijan) and in others this decline has accelerated more recently, mainly in southwestern Russia, Armenia, and in the coastal regions of Israel. The main threats to the eastern subspecies clades of T. graeca are the degradation and loss of habitats by urbanization and development, bush fires, and agricultural mechanization, while the legal collection for the international pet trade, especially to Europe, is currently much more regulated than in previous decades.distribution. -Southeastern Europe and southwestern

Scavenging by young tortoises (Testudo sp.) could induce their predation by the Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo)

“…Separating the bones from the tendons to free the tortoise from its predicament did not induce vomiting. Tortoises are mainly vegetarians, but animal food has been found in their diet: some invertebrates and carcasses of various vertebrates (Bertolero et al 2011, Stojanov et al 2011, Türkozan et al 2023). Hermann's Tortoise ate pellets of Western Barn Owl (Tyto alba) and Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) (Bertolero 2015).…”