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The Egyptian Tortoise: its natural history, its captive care, its beauty, its lore. . .
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Golden beauties of the desert
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| FOUR AND FIVE YEAR OLDS GRAZING ON THE LAWN |
THE DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF TESTUDO KLEINMANNI
Testudo kleinmanni are among the easiest of the Mediterranean tortoises to identify on sight. They are typically described
as a pale, dull, yellowish tortoise, with a high-domed carapace with dark brown or black marks on the front and sides of
each scute. As the animal ages, this darker keratin often mellows to a lighter shade, and the carapace can range from nearly
gray to ivory to an almost golden color. As the kleinmanni in my collection come to maturity, more and more of that rich
golden color begins to appear. Males reach a maximum of 3 1/2 to 4 in. long. Females are somewhat larger, often growing
to a 5 in. straight carapace length (SCL) measurement.
In the photograph below, one can get a sense of the comparative sizes of kleinmanni. On the left is a four year-old female,
expected to grow about another inch in length. In the center is a five year-old male who at 4+ inches has already reached
his full adult size. On the right are two hatchlings of vastly different sizes, each six months old. The grid these animals
are on is 1 in. squares.
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| (L) 4 YEAR-OLD FEMALE; (C) 5 YEAR-OLD MALE; (R) 6 MONTH OLD HATCHLINGS |
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THE TELLTALE CHEVRONS THAT MARK THE PLASTRON
| Adult female kleinmanni |
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| Classic chevrons on the abdominal scutes |
| The uniquely configured chevrons |
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| appear even on the hatchling |
| Unique shadow chevrons |
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| appear on this infant tortoise |
In addition to their miniature size and distinctive carapace coloration, they are marked quite clearly on the abdominal scutes
of their straw to ivory colored plastrons by two dark chevrons in the keratin, each pointing to the animal's hind quarters.
T. kleinmanni is the only tortoise of the Testudo genus to bear markings of quite this unique configuration. They are present
even on the hatchlings. With age, these chevrons lengthen as the animal grows and the keratin bed of the plastron grows with
it.
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THE PLASTRAL KINESIS
| KLEINMANNI PLASTRON |
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| Drawing by Fred Erwin |
The last third of the Testudo kleinmanni plastron (the posterior four scutes -- the femoral and anal scutes) form a moveable
plastral kinesis that is retained into adulthood. This hind panel on the plastron allows the animal to withdraw its hind
legs and pull the kinesis up, providing a minimal protection for its hindquarters after it has dug a scrape in the substrate
at the base of a bush or clump of grass. The tortoise can also drop the plastron to provide more range of motion and posture
for the hindquarters. This allows the females of such a small species more flexibility in egg laying. The "hinge"
to this small panel lies between the abdominal and femoral scutes of the plastron, marked in red on the drawing (above left).
In the photo to the upper right, this sub-adult male has maximized his basking surface by dropping his kinesis, splaying
his legs directly to the sides, and extending his tail out from under cover of the carapace. NOTE: Veterinarians unfamiliar
with the species have been known to diagnose incomplete calcification of the plastron when encountering this feature for the
first time. One vet actually recommended that I splint my animals' plastrons and increase their calcium until the hinge
solidified. The moral of the story: know your animal, and find a veterinarian to work with who trusts your knowledge.
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| GENDER ID: FEMALE |
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| Note the narrow angle of the anal scutes, the shorter tail, and the more puckered cloacal vent |
| GENDER ID: MALE |
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| Note the wide angle of the anal scutes, the long, wide tail, and the slit defining the cloacal vent |
GENDER DIFFERENCES AND IDENTIFICATION
Identifying the gender of a Testudo kleinmanni tortoise is not generally possible until late in
the second or early third year of life. Gender in most tortoise species is not determined by chromosomes, as in mammals,
but by the temperature of the tortoise egg at diapause, a particular point in the Incubation process.
Males of the kleinmanni species at maturity have a long tail, thick at the base with a long cloacal vent shaped as a slit
in the underside of the tail. As in many tortoise species, the males generally carry their tails with great dignity held
to one side, though I have seen my older males march around their enclosure wagging their tails behind them. Females, in
addition to being distinguished by their larger size, can be identified by their relatively shorter tail, the cloacal vent
on the underside of which is more tightly puckered and placed closer to the tortoise's shell under the edge of the carapace.
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