Description and Systematics
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 (a horny spike) 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 (11 inches) in length. A specimen of this size may weigh 3-4 kg (6-9 lb). T. h. hermanni rarely grow larger than 18 cm (7.5 inches). Some adult specimens are as small as 7 cm (3 inches).
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Male of hermanni
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Female of hermanni
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Female of boettgeri
In 2006 it was suggested to move Hermann's tortoise to the genus Eurotestudo and to bring the subspecies to the rank of species (Eurotestudo hermanni and Eurotestudo boettgeri). 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.
Read more about this topic: Hermann's Tortoise
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