Tortoises in Romania (3 Viewers)

[Steve Elliott]

Could anyone help confirm the ID of these 2 tortoises seen in eastern Romania. I gather that there are 2 species, Spur-thighed and Heerman's. One was in sand dunes along the Black Sea coast and the other in a quarry about 25km inland. Many thanks

 

[vipersgarden]

you are right. 1st graeca, 2nd hermanni

 

[Steve Elliott]

you are right. 1st graeca, 2nd hermanni

Many thanks for that. May I ask what features clinch that?

 

[Val35]

Note sure how to tell them apart from those pics as it seems to me that Hermann's (from French naturalist Jean Hermann, not Heerman who is an American naturalist) and Spur-thighed tortoises can be identified by :

-only one supracaudal scale in Greek, 2 in Hermann's
-Spurs on thighs of the hind legs in Spur-Thighed, absent in Hermann's
-Hermann's have a "claw" on the tip of the tail

None of this is visible on this pics...but maybe there are other fieldmarks that I'm not aware of.

 

[Steve Elliott]

Note sure how to tell them apart from those pics as it seems to me that Hermann's (from French naturalist Jean Hermann, not Heerman who is an American naturalist) and Spur-thighed tortoises can be identified by :

-only one supracaudal scale in Greek, 2 in Hermann's
-Spurs on thighs of the hind legs in Spur-Thighed, absent in Hermann's
-Hermann's have a "claw" on the tip of the tail

None of this is visible on this pics...but maybe there are other fieldmarks that I'm not aware of.

Many thanks for your comments