Russian? or greek?

[whiteSwan]

Hi everyone, my Name is Noelle, i'm friends with KimandKarasi, I'm new here, and I got a tortoise today, and they said it was a Russian, but we read through a book about Russian tortoises, and it had Greek ones as well. and mine looks more, to me and kim, like the Greek tortoise. i'm not very smart when it comes to turtles and such, so maybe someone could help me figure out if she is really a Russian. also if anyone has any tips on her tank and what I can do to make her feel happy and healthy, i'd be thankful! thanks guys.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[dmmj]

Russian tortoise, provide a clear tail shot and we should be able to tell the gender.

 

[wellington]

Looks Russian to me. Hello and Welcome

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, that's a steppe tortoise (Russian - Agrionemys horsefieldii).

Hi Noelle:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Your new tortoise has a very pretty face. Wouldn't surprise me if it turns out to be female. I'm doing an informal study on tortoises faces. So I'm curious to see a tail shot.

 

[Zamric]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[KimandKarasi]

She has a tail shot that we took, but she hasn't quite put it up yet... according to my small bit of knowledge I learned from all you awesome tortoise lovers out there I believe it's a female (she named her Tatyana, [not sure how she wants it spelled, lol!] I thought that was an AMAZING female Russian name XD). She's doing a great job taking care of her so far, and in the Petco beauty contest earlier today both Tatyana and Karasi won 10 dollars and got first prize! XD
Noelle is my best friend in the entire world since we were still in diapers, so treat her well!

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Looks like a happy little russian to me.

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

Definitely Russian, welcome!

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Yes, that's a steppe tortoise (Russian - Agrionemys horsefieldii).

Hi Noelle:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Your new tortoise has a very pretty face. Wouldn't surprise me if it turns out to be female. I'm doing an informal study on tortoises faces. So I'm curious to see a tail shot.

Recent studies have placed the steppe tortoise back in the genus Testudo.

 

[KimandKarasi]

Recent studies have placed the steppe tortoise back in the genus Testudo.

You're right (though I don't understand what caused the genus to change..) on the book we were reading it classified them as Testudo horsefieldii

 

[Utah Lynn]

One thing I notice is that no one mentions the fact that, for a positive ID for a Russian, it has only four toes; It is also called a Four-toed Tortoise. I can't see this ones toes, but it looks Russian to me. Cute.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Recent studies have placed the steppe tortoise back in the genus Testudo.

You're right (though I don't understand what caused the genus to change..) on the book we were reading it classified them as Testudo horsefieldii

Basically, based on the genes studied, the Hermann tortoise is more closely related to the steppe tortoise than it is to the Greek tortoise (even though in some ways it looks more like the Greek). This means that, based on phylogenetics, if the Hermann tortoise is to remain in the genus Testudo, the steppe tortoise has to be brought in, too. Of course, you could also just put the Hermann and the steppe tortoises together in their own genus apart from the Greek, marginated, and Egyptian tortoises, but overall the genetic differences are not that big, so they're all going to stay together in Testudo.

 

[KimandKarasi]

Basically, based on the genes studied, the Hermann tortoise is more closely related to the steppe tortoise than it is to the Greek tortoise (even though in some ways it looks more like the Greek). This means that, based on phylogenetics, if the Hermann tortoise is to remain in the genus Testudo, the steppe tortoise has to be brought in, too. Of course, you could also just put the Hermann and the steppe tortoises together in their own genus apart from the Greek, marginated, and Egyptian tortoises, but overall the genetic differences are not that big, so they're all going to stay together in Testudo.

So when I hear someone talking about a Steppe tortoise it's actually considered a Russian? I always wondered why they were called Russians if they originate from Asia...

 

[whiteSwan]

Tail shot

here is the tail shot we took, I hope it's ok

 

[whiteSwan]

thank you!

 

[whiteSwan]

thanks, Kim XD I posted her tail shot today too. and you really can spell it how you want but I spell it Tatianna

 

[whiteSwan]

thank you, to me she has beautiful eyes. and I have a Tail shot up, i'm new here so hopefully I posted it right. haha!

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

So when I hear someone talking about a Steppe tortoise it's actually considered a Russian? I always wondered why they were called Russians if they originate from Asia...

Yeah, the Russian tortoise is also known as the Afghan, Central Asian, or steppe tortoise, as well as the four-toed tortoise (as mentioned above). A few other folks and I like using the common name "steppe tortoise" for Testudo horsfieldii, because this species comes from the grasslands (steppes) and deserts of Central Asia. We prefer this descriptive common name, because this animal is one of the most widely distributed tortoises in the world. It's found not only in Afghanistan and southern Russia, but also much of the rest of Central Asia: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan, as well as eastern Iran and western China. When it comes to common names, this little critter is like the puma/cougar/mountain lion/catamount of the turtle world. But rather than picking just one country, we find it useful to refer to this tortoise's habitat for its common name.