Greek tortoise subspecies

[GeoTerraTestudo]

There are only a handful of subspecies in most tortoise species (if any), but in Greek tortoises, the number of subspecies is truly bewildering. Would you Greek tortoise experts kindly take the time to create a list of all the Greek tortoise subspecies, with their descriptions and directions on how to identify them (preferably with photos)? That would be a great resource to have here on TFO.

 

[GBtortoises]

I'm no "expert" on Greek tortoises but I can say that a definitive list isn't possible. There have been many written and proclaimed to be "the" list, but none of them are. Depending upon what literature one reads or what researchers work one wants to accept, there are anywhere from approximately 5 to as many as 15+ subspecies, some concretely accepted such as Testudo gracea gracea & Testudo (gracea) ibera to several others which are often in constant flux. Along with that, photos and to some extent descriptions are sometime futile given the fact that T. gracea subspecies cover such a vast, probably the largest, geographical range of any tortoise on earth. The physical and cosmentic variations, even among a single subspecies, can vary greatly. I guess you could generalize, which is really what has been done all along with Gracea thus far. There are a few that claim to look at an individual "Greek" tortoise in captivity with no comparison and say this is subspecies so and so. I doubt that is really accurate much of the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur-thighed_tortoise

This site has an extensive photo gallery of reptiles of the Balkan area which is home primarily to T. ibera and even within that region there is a vast difference in Ibera:

http://en.balcanica.info/1-57-1

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I was afraid of that. The reason I ask about these subspecies is, beyond curiosity, where they come from dictates what kind of care they'll need (temperature, humidity, space, whether or not they brumate, etc).

I'm glad to hear that at least T. graeca graeca and T. graeca ibera are firmly in place. These two are very different, as the ibera subspecies comes from the north, and the graeca subspecies from the south. Ibera are considered more robust and easier to care for in a wider range of climate in captivity than the graeca subspecies. As such, I think it's important to be able to tell them apart, since their survival might depend on it.

So, are there any reliable ways to distinguish between these two subspecies at least?