One of the 41 turtles and tortoises on WAnimals
Reptiles · Testudines · Testudinidae
Common Tortoise
Testudo graeca
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
It is one of the longest-lived reptiles known, with one confirmed individual reaching 127 years. Its English name of Greek tortoise refers not to where it lives but to the resemblance of its shell to the mosaics of classical Greece.
Weight
1 kg – 5 kg
Size
18 cm – 35 cm
Lifespan
90 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- One confirmed individual reached 127 years of age.
- Its English name of Greek tortoise refers to the resemblance of its shell to classical mosaics, not to where it lives.
- It can lay 1 to 3 clutches a year in good conditions.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - bony skeleton with a fused shell (reptile)
- Habitat & environment
- Dry scrub, grassland and rocky slopes of southern Europe, North Africa and south-western Asia
- Birth weight
- Small egg; hatchling 3.8-5 cm
- Size at birth
- 3.8 - 5 cm of carapace length at hatching
- Sexual maturity
- 6-10 years (figures from captivity; it may take longer in the wild)
- Gestation / incubation
- 60-90 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 3 to 8 eggs per clutch (up to 1-3 clutches a year in ideal conditions)
- Lifespan in captivity
- Documented record of 125 years in captivity
Sources consulted: Hepper Pet Resources; The Tortoise Spot; Tortoise Resource Center; PetAge; Animalia.bio; Wikipedia
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 44 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Common Tortoise — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Steppe Tortoise
Testudo horsfieldii
Hermann's Tortoise
Testudo hermanni
Pancake Tortoise
Malacochersus tornieri
Indian Star Tortoise
Geochelone elegans
Greater Capricorn Beetle
Cerambyx cerdo
Egyptian Spiny-tailed Lizard
Uromastyx aegyptia
How to help
The common tortoise is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 6 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about common tortoise.
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