I'm wondering if anyone here could help me figure out if my juvenile Dash is an eastern or western hermann's tortoise? The place I purchased from didn't give any information about it. Also I'm very aware of his slight pyramiding, he already had it when I got him and I'm trying my best to fix his new growth!
Eastern or western hermann's?
- Thread starter okkarence
- Start date
TeamZissou
Well-Known Member
I think the answer is C. None of the above!
This appears to be a Dalmatian Hermanns tortoise, Testudo hermanni hercegovinensis. I suppose technically it's an Eastern Hermann's since Dalmatian is no longer considered its own subspecies. Most tortoise people still consider it a separate subspecies because it has many features that distinguish it from a true Eastern.
Here's what I see on your tort that makes me think so:
Overall shape of head and eyes look like Hermanni Chris' photo (using this photo of your tort)
Heart shaped green mark on top of head
Missing inguinal scute (though it's tough to tell from current pic since it is far away).
Shape of black spot on first vertebral scute
Looks good!
tortoiseforum.org
This appears to be a Dalmatian Hermanns tortoise, Testudo hermanni hercegovinensis. I suppose technically it's an Eastern Hermann's since Dalmatian is no longer considered its own subspecies. Most tortoise people still consider it a separate subspecies because it has many features that distinguish it from a true Eastern.
Here's what I see on your tort that makes me think so:
Overall shape of head and eyes look like Hermanni Chris' photo (using this photo of your tort)
Heart shaped green mark on top of head
Missing inguinal scute (though it's tough to tell from current pic since it is far away).
Shape of black spot on first vertebral scute
Looks good!
How to Identify Hermann's Tortoises
HOW TO IDENTIFY HERMANN'S TORTOISES This is a newly updated (2018) thread explaining how to tell apart the subspecies or "types" of Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni ssp). Before reading on, it's crucial for you to understand that telling the Hermann's tortoises apart is not always easy. In...
tortoiseforum.org
Very very interesting, thank youI think the answer is C. None of the above!
This appears to be a Dalmatian Hermanns tortoise, Testudo hermanni hercegovinensis. I suppose technically it's an Eastern Hermann's since Dalmatian is no longer considered its own subspecies. Most tortoise people still consider it a separate subspecies because it has many features that distinguish it from a true Eastern.
Here's what I see on your tort that makes me think so:
Overall shape of head and eyes look like Hermanni Chris' photo (using this photo of your tort)
Heart shaped green mark on top of head
Missing inguinal scute (though it's tough to tell from current pic since it is far away).
Shape of black spot on first vertebral scute
Looks good!
How to Identify Hermann's Tortoises
HOW TO IDENTIFY HERMANN'S TORTOISES This is a newly updated (2018) thread explaining how to tell apart the subspecies or "types" of Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni ssp). Before reading on, it's crucial for you to understand that telling the Hermann's tortoises apart is not always easy. In...
i will read up on it now!I managed to take a better picture of Dash's underside today and i honestly can't tell if he's got the inguinal scutes or not?I think the answer is C. None of the above!
This appears to be a Dalmatian Hermanns tortoise, Testudo hermanni hercegovinensis. I suppose technically it's an Eastern Hermann's since Dalmatian is no longer considered its own subspecies. Most tortoise people still consider it a separate subspecies because it has many features that distinguish it from a true Eastern.
Here's what I see on your tort that makes me think so:
Overall shape of head and eyes look like Hermanni Chris' photo (using this photo of your tort)
Heart shaped green mark on top of head
Missing inguinal scute (though it's tough to tell from current pic since it is far away).
Shape of black spot on first vertebral scute
Looks good!
How to Identify Hermann's Tortoises
HOW TO IDENTIFY HERMANN'S TORTOISES This is a newly updated (2018) thread explaining how to tell apart the subspecies or "types" of Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni ssp). Before reading on, it's crucial for you to understand that telling the Hermann's tortoises apart is not always easy. In...
Attachments
TeamZissou
Well-Known Member
Where you want to look is near the front of the leg.
Here are two of HermanniChris' photos showing no inguinal scute on a Dalmatian (green arrows):
Compare this to a photo of a Greek tortoise (T.g. terrestris) that has a scute at this location:
The lack of inguinal scute is often cited as being a giveaway for identifying Dalmatians. However, according to HermanniChris, the scute is missing about 60% of the time, so it's still possible to have a Dalmatian with an inguinal scute. That said, I think the other features of your tortoise--especially the head and eyes--show that it's a Dalmatian.
Similar threads
