Turtle Testudo Hermanni Tortoise Stock Photo

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines (the crown group of the superorder Chelonia), characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield. Turtle may either refer to the Testudines as a whole, or to particular Testudines which make up a form taxon that is not monophyletic. Hermann's Tortoise (Testudo hermanni) is one of five tortoise species traditionally placed in the genus Testudo, which also includes the well-known Marginated Tortoise (T. marginata), Greek Tortoise (T. graeca), and Russian Tortoise (T. horsfieldii), for example. Three subspecies are known: the Western Hermann's Tortoise (T. h. hermanni), the Eastern Hermann's Tortoise (T. h. boettgeri) and Dalmatian Tortoise (T. h. hercegovinensis). Sometimes mentioned subspecies T. h. peleponnesica is not yet confirmed to be genetically different to T. h. boettgeri.