What subspecies is this Greek?

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kimber_lee_314

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Any guesses on the subspecies? I'm guessing Jordanian - but I'm really not good at identifying greek subspecies.
 

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GBtortoises

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Could be from any number of Middle Eastern areas, Jordan, Libya, etc...Everyone likes to know where their tortoise is from (me included). The "problem" with attempting to identify Middle Eastern Gracea is that it's nearly impossible unless you know for sure the exact geographical location that it comes from. The country boundries on a map don't determine species (or subspecies) as some have lead tortoises owners to believe. There aren't really "Jordanians" or "Libyians" or "Syrian" tortoises. In many cases with Gracea certain characterics can determine the geographical region that a tortoise comes from. But more often than not, a given population has several different looking tortoises within it. Gracea are the most diverse looking group of tortoises on the planet. The multitude of ever changing subspecies proclamations constantly add to the confusion. There is a growing acceptance within the captive community that without an accurate, positive subspecies identification, of which there aren't many, a Middle Eastern Gracea is just that, a Middle Eastern Gracea. When considering captive breeding it is always best to try to match up as similar looking tortoises as possible. It will usually encourage better breeding and hopefully produce offspring that have their parents features in common. Other than that it is probably more important to know if a "Greek" tortoise is from North Africa, the Middle East or the Northern Mediterranean since each region has different climate conditions and in many cases tortoises from those regions need slightly different care in captivity.
 

kimber_lee_314

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Thank you! I have some "Jordanians" that look similar so I was hoping to add this one to their group. Whatever he is ... he is beautiful! :)
 

Tccarolina

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In a way, it's a little like calling eastern box turtles by their state of origin. All the same subspecies, T g terrestris, and T. c carolina. Both show tremendous variation in coloring, shell shape, and size. Both show some regional temperature tolerance due to climate changes across their ranges.
Both also show lots of variation in individual populations.
 
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