Hermann's tortoise

Appearance

Hermann's tortoises are small to medium sized tortoises that come from southern Europe. Young animals, and some adults, have attractive black and yellow patterned carapaces, although the brightness may fade with age to a less distinct gray, straw or yellow coloration. They have a slightly hooked upper jaw and, like other tortoises, possess no teeth, just a strong, horny beak. Their scaly limbs are greyish to brown, with some yellow markings, and the tail bears a spur at the tip. Adult males have particularly long and thick tails, and a well developed spur, distinguishing them from females.

The eastern subspecies ''Testudo hermanni boettgeri'' is much larger than the west, reaching sizes up to 28 cm in length. A specimen of this size may weigh 3-4 kg . ''T. h. hermanni'' rarely grow larger than 18 cm . Some adult specimens are as small as 7 cm .



In 2006 it was suggested to move Hermann's tortoise to the genus ''Eurotestudo'' and to bring the subspecies to the rank of species . Though there are some indications that this might be correct, the data at hand is not unequivocally in support and the relationships between Hermann's and the Russian tortoise among each other and to the other species placed in ''Testudo'' are not robustly determined. Hence it seems doubtful that the new genus will be accepted for the time being. The elevation of the subspecies to full species was tentatively rejected under the Biological Species Concept at least, as there still seems significant gene flow.

It was also noted that the rate of evolution as measured by mutations accumulating in the mtDNA differs markedly, with the eastern populations having evolved faster. This is apparently due to stronger fragmentation of the population on the mountainous Balkans during the last ice age. While this has no profound implications for taxonomy of this species - apart from suggesting that two other proposed subspecies are actually just local forms at present -, it renders the use of molecular clocks in ''Testudo'' even more dubious and unreliable than they are for turtles in general.

Habitat

Early in the morning, the animals leave their nightly shelters, which are usually hollows protected by thick bushes or hedges, to bask in the sun and warm their bodies. They then roam about the Mediterranean meadows of their habitat in search of food. They determine which plants to eat by the sense of smell. In addition to leaves and flowers, the animals eat fruits as supplementary nutrition. They only eat a small amount of fruit, just enough to satisfy themselves.

Around midday, the sun becomes too hot for the tortoises, so they return to their hiding places. They have a good sense of direction to enable them to return. Experiments have shown that they also possess a good sense of time, the position of the sun, the magnetic lines of the earth, and for landmarks. In the late afternoon, they leave their shelters again and return to feeding.

In late February, Hermann’s tortoises emerge from under bushes or old rotting wood, where they spend the winter months hibernating, buried in a bed of dead leaves. Immediately after surfacing from their winter resting place, Hermann’s tortoises commence courtship and mating. Courtship is a rough affair for the female, who is pursued, rammed and bitten by the male, before being mounted. Aggression is also seen between rival males during the breeding season, which can result in ramming contests.

Between May and July, female Hermann’s tortoises deposit between two and twelve eggs into flask-shaped nests dug into the soil, up to ten centimetres deep. Most females lay more than one clutch each season. The pinkish-white eggs are incubated for around 90 days and, like many reptiles, the temperature at which the eggs are incubated determines the hatchlings sex. At 26 degrees Celsius, only males will be produced, while at 30 degrees Celsius, all the hatchlings will be female. Young Hermann’s tortoises emerge just after the start of the heavy autumn rains in early September, and spend the first four or five years of their lives within just a few metres of their nest. If the rains do not come, or if nesting took place late in the year, the eggs will still hatch but the young will remain underground and not emerge until the following spring. Until the age of six or eight, when the hard shell becomes fully developed, the young tortoises are very vulnerable to predators, and may fall prey to rats, badgers, magpies, foxes, wildboar and many other animals. If they survive these threats, the longevity of Hermann’s tortoises is around 30 years. One of rare records of longevity is 31.7 years. Compared to other tortoises , the longevity might be underestimated and many sources are reporting that they might life up to 90 years or even more.

Reproduction

Breeding and upbringing of Hermann's tortoise is quite easy if it is kept in species-appropriate environment. The European Studbook Foundation maintains stud books for both subspecies. With the help of Uva/Uvb emitting bulbs the correct environment for breeding can be created and bring tortoise's into perfect breeding condition.