Is my little one a Greek or Hermann’s?

Grace-Sophia

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
688
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
Also here is her back side, as you can see she doesn’t have that marking in the photo posted by TMoony at the beginning, she has more of a Greek tortoise scute design
 

Attachments

  • 2E56B223-44B1-4380-9699-DB8F65E8BF03.jpeg
    2E56B223-44B1-4380-9699-DB8F65E8BF03.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 10

TeamZissou

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
1,048
Location (City and/or State)
Albuquerque, NM
You've definitely got a Hermann's tortoise.

You're right, sometimes Hermann's and some Greeks looks similar. Hermann's often get confused with Ibera Greeks (T. g. ibera). The easiest way to tell the difference is by looking at the plastron. Hermann's have (roughly) two black vertical bands whereas Greeks have larger splotches or even total black. Another, very obvious way to tell is the presence of a spur/nail/claw right on the end of the tail in the Hermann's. Greeks have no such spur. The shape of the head is also a big indicator. The pages below show good photos of the head and nose shape for each species.

Check out the eastern Hermann's photos on this page:


And compare them to the Ibera Greeks on this page:


The bottom of the Hermann's page also shows the range of color variation one can expect to see, even within the same species/subspecies.
 

Grace-Sophia

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
688
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
Thank you all so much for your help!
My last question is why do they look so different? ?
 

TeamZissou

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
1,048
Location (City and/or State)
Albuquerque, NM
They probably came/descended from different localities where those colors/patterns developed due to evolutionary pressures. There are also probably color variations due to genetics or random chance.
 

New Posts

Top