You are here » home › advanced search › Testudo marginata

Testudo marginata SCHOEPFF, 1792

IUCN Red List - Testudo marginata - Least Concern, LC
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Testudo marginata?

Add your own observation of
Testudo marginata »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaTestudinidae, Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Marginated Tortoise
G: Breitrand-Schildkröte
E: Dwarf marginated tortoise (weissingeri)
F: Tortue bordée naine (weissingeri)
Italian: testuggine marginata 
SynonymTestudo tabulata var. campanulata WALBAUM (nomen illegitimum) 1782
Testudo marginata SCHOEPFF 1792
Testudo graja HERMANN 1804
Testudo marginata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 37
Testudo marginata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 219
Testudo campanulata STRAUCH 1862
Testudo nemoralis SCHREIBER 1875
Testudo marginata — BOULENGER 1889
Testudo marginata — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 269
Testudo marginata sarda MAYER 1992 (fide FRITZ & HAVAS 2007)
Testudo marginata — ENGELMANN et al 1993
Testudo marginata weissingeri — TRUTNAU 1994
Testudo weissingeri BOUR 1996
Testudo marginata — LAPPARENT DE BROIN 2001
Testudo marginata weissingeri — FRITZ 2002
Testudo weissingeri — BONIN et al 2006
Testudo marginata weissingeri — PIEH & PHILIPPEN 2007
Testudo marginata — SINDACO & JEREMČENKO 2008
Testudo weissingeri — KWET & TRAPP 2014
Testudo (Testudo) marginata — TTWG 2017: 155
Testudo marginata — TTWG 2021 
DistributionItaly (introduced to Sardinia; Tuscany [E. RAZZETTI, pers. comm.]), Turkey (introduced fide SINDACO et al. 2000),
Greece (from Mt. Olympus southward, in the Aegean Sea, Corfu, Skyros, Poros, Paros), Albania

weissingeri: Greece (Peloponnese, on the Western flank of the Taygetos mountain, between Kalamata (Messenia) and Areopoli (Laconia))

Type locality: Unknown; designated by Bour (1987:121), as "Grèce" based on repeated reference to Greece in the donor's description, and further restricted to "la province de l'Attique, d'où provenait vraisemblablement ce lectotype" [province of Attica, Stereá Eláda].  
ReproductionTestudo marginata and Testudo graeca ibera have been reported to produce viable hybrids (STEMMLER-GYGER 1963, 1964, Rogner 2013). 
TypesLectotype: MZUS 143 designated by Bour 1987:118.
Holotype: MNHN-RA 1989: 3317 [weissingeri] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1858 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSystematics: Testudo weissingeri differs from T. marginata in size and coloration. However, the presence of thigh-spurs is not a reliable character to distinguish between the two species. It has been postulated that T. weissingeri is a dwarf form of T. marginata, the largest European tortoise species. FRITZ et al (2005) detected no differentiation between T. marginata and T. weissingeri. They conclude that T. weissingeri is not a distinct evolutionary unit and suggest that its small size is the result of suboptimal environmental conditions with limited resources. As a consequence, T. weissingeri was synonymized with T. marginata.

Distribution: For a map see Escoriza & Hassine 2022: Fig. 1. 
EtymologyEtymology (weissingeri): Named after Heinz Weissinger (5.11.1945-21.1.1993), see obiturary in Benyr 1993, Herpetozoa, 6: 71. 
References
  • Bassu, L.; V. Nulchis, M. G. Satta, C. Fresi & C. Corti 2008. Atlas of amphibians and reptiles of Sardinia - state of the art and general considerations. Herpetologia Sardiniae (Claudia Corti, ed.), Edizioni Belvedere, 504 pp.
  • Baur, M. 2014. Ernährungsbedingte Erkrankungen bei Landschildkröten. Reptilia (Münster) 19 (105): 58-66
  • Belcheva, R.G., T.S. Sofianidou & V.K. Psallidas 1990. A karyological study of the tortoise Testudo marginata Amphibia-Reptilia, 11(2): 185-189. - get paper here
  • Biaggini, Marta; Antonio Romano, Luciano Di Tizio, Claudia Corti 2018. Density and sex-ratio of wild populations of three Testudo species in Italy. Herpetozoa 30 (3/4): 203 - 208 - get paper here
  • Bonin, F., Devaux, B. & Dupré, A. 2006. Turtles of the World. English translation by P.C.H. Pritchard. Johns Hopkins University Press, 416 pp.
  • Bour, R. 1987. L'identité des Tortues terrestres européennes: spécimens-types et localitiés-types. Revue Française d'Aquariologie, Herpétologie. Université de Nancy 13 (4) [1986]: 111-122. - get paper here
  • Bour, R. 1996. Une nouvelle espèce de tortue terrestre dans le Péloponnèse (Grèce). Dumerilia 2: 23-54 [1995]
  • Brinckmeier, C., F. Bode & A. Hampe 1989. First record of the Marginated Tortoise, Testudo marginata, in Turkey. Zoology in the Middle East 3: 47 - get paper here
  • Bruekers, Jacp 2005. De Breedrandshildpad, Testudo marginata. Lacerta 63 (3): 109-118 - get paper here
  • Buchert, I. & Buchert, P/ 2011. Die Gaviola-Lagune. Elaphe 19 (1): 26-32
  • Buchert, Peter B 2012. Eine neue Heimat für Landschildkröten. Draco 12 (49): 4-17
  • Chondropoulos, Basil P.;Chiras, George 1997. Geographic Distribution. Testudo marginata. Herpetological Review 28 (4): 209 - get paper here
  • Cimatti, E. 2007. Testudo marginata - Ein Blick auf Sardinien. Reptilia (Münster) 12 (67): 67-76 - get paper here
  • Cimatti, E. 2007. Testudo marginata. A View of Sardinia. Reptilia (GB) (53): - get paper here
  • Corti, C., Biaggini, M., Nulchis, V., Cogoni, R., Cossu, I. M., Frau, S., ... & Bassu, L. 2022. Species diversity and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in Sardinia, Italy. Acta Herpetologica, 17(2), 125-133
  • Crawford, T. 1991. Husbandry of the Marginated Tortoise (Testudo marginata). Sonoran Herpetologist 4 (8):177, 183-184. - get paper here
  • Dinkel, H. 1979. Auf Schildkrötenjagd in Griechenland. Herpetofauna 1 (3): 6-7 - get paper here
  • Duméril, A. M.C., G. BIBRON & A. DUMÉRIL 1854. Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 9. Paris, XX + 440 S. - get paper here
  • Duméril, A.M.C., and G. Bibron. 1835. Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles, Vol. 2. Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Paris, iv + 680 p. - get paper here
  • Engelmann, W.E. et al. 1993. Lurche und Kriechtiere Europas. Neumann Verlag (Radebeul, Germany), 440 pp.
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • Escoriza D & J. Ben Hassine 2022. Niche diversification of Mediterranean and southwestern Asian tortoises. PeerJ 10:e13702 - get paper here
  • ESCORIZA, D., TZORAS, E., AND BRINGSøE, H. 2023. Testudo marginata Schoepff 1793 – Marginated Tortoise, Kraspedochelóna, Breshka Malore, Testuggine Marginata. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(17): 122.1–25 - get paper here
  • Farke, C. M. & C. Distler 2015. Ontogeny and abnormalities of the tortoise carapace: a computer tomography and dissection study. Salamandra 51 (3): 231-244 - get paper here
  • Ferreres, Jordi Arias 2009. Recull bibliogràfic sobre Testudo marginata (Schoepff, 1793) a l ́illa de Sardenya. Butll. Soc. Cat. Herp. 18: 72-80
  • Fritz, U. 2002. Herpetology and herpetological type specimens at the Museum für Tierkunde Dresden with a bibliography of herpetological contributions by Fritz Jürgen Obst (Amphibia, Reptilia). Faun. Abh. Mus. Tierk. Dresden 23 (1): 3-34 - get paper here
  • Fritz, Uwe; Pavel Sirok, Hajigholi Kami and Michael Wink 2005. Environmentally caused dwarfism or a valid species—Is Testudo weissingeri Bour, 1996 a distinct evolutionary lineage? New evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear genomic markers. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 37 (2): 389-401 - get paper here
  • GEMEL, R. 1997. Langjährige Gefangenschaftshaltung einer Breitrandschildkröte, Testudo marginata SCHOEPFF, 1792. Herpetozoa 10 - get paper here
  • Gemel, R.; G. Gassner & S. Schweiger 2019. Katalog der Typen der Herpetologischen Sammlung des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien – 2018. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, B 121: 33–248
  • Gruber, U. & Fuchs, D. 1977. Die Herpetofauna des Paros-Archipels (Zentral-Ägäis). Salamandra 13 (2): 60-77 - get paper here
  • Heimann, E. 1989. Testudo marginata SCHÖPFF, 1792. Sauria 11 (2) Suppl.: 139–144 - get paper here
  • Heimann, E. 1993. Drei Zwillingspaare bei Testudo marginata. Salamandra 29 (3-4): 167-172 - get paper here
  • Heinmann, Edlef. 2016. A F3-generation of Marginated Tortoises (Testudo marginata Schoepff, 1792) in captive care. Radiata (English edition). 25 (2): 45-50
  • Heinmann, Edlef. 2016. Eine F3-Generation bei Breitrandschildkröten (Testudo marginata Schoepff, 1792) in menschlicher obhut. Radiata 25 (2): 45-50
  • HERZ, M. 1994. Beobachtungen an Breitrandschildkröten Testudo marginata SCHOEPFF, 1792 in freier Natur. Sauria 16 (1): 27-30 - get paper here
  • Herz, M. 2007. Die Breitrandschildkröte (Testudo marginata). Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster, 64 pp. - get paper here
  • Herz, Mario. 2016. Weitere Beobachtungen an Breitrandschildkröten in Griechenland. Radiata 25 (2): 4-15
  • Herz, Mario. 2016. Further observations on Marginated Tortoises in Greece. Radiata (English edition). 25 (2): 4-15
  • Kock, D., and G. Storch. 1979. Testudo marginata Schoepff, 1792 aud den Nödlichen Sproraden, Ägäis. Salamandra 15 (2): 101-105 - get paper here
  • Koppitz, Christian; Julian Kolleck, Melanie Kurtz, Patricia Hildebrandt & Klaus Richter 2017. Die Leier des Hermes – Einblicke in das Leben zweier Landschildkrötenarten auf der Peloponnes. Terraria-Elaphe 2017 (4): 34-43 - get paper here
  • Kwet, A. 2010. Reptilien und Amphibien Europas. Kosmos-Verlag, Stuttgart, 252 pp.
  • Kwet, Axel & Benny Trapp 2014. Liste der Reptilien Europas. Draco 15 (60): 72-79 - get paper here
  • Kwet, Axel & Benny Trapp 2014. Reptilien in Europa – eine aktuelle Übersicht. Draco 15 (60): 6-25 - get paper here
  • Leone, Chris and Andrew Hermes. 2016. Testudo marginata: Haltung und Pflege in verschiedenen Teilen der Vereinigten Staaten, mit Bemerkungen zu möglichen Unterarten. Radiata 25 (2): 16-43
  • Leone, Chris and Andrew Hermes. 2016. Testudo marginata: care statistics in regions of the United States with notes on the recognition of possible subspecies. Radiata (English edition). 25 (2): 16-43
  • Lourenço, João M.; Julien Claude, Nicolas Galtier, Ylenia Chiari 2011. Dating cryptodiran nodes: Origin and diversification of the turtle superfamily Testudinoidea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62 (1): - get paper here
  • Mähn, M. 1996. Siamesische Zwillinge bei der Breitrandschildkröte Testudo marginata (SCHOEPFF, 1792). Salamandra 32 (4): 259-262 - get paper here
  • Martini, S., & Schmitt, M. 2024. Additional notes on the herpetofauna of Lefkada (Ionian Islands, Greece). Natural History Sciences, 11(1) - get paper here
  • Mendt,A. & Bender. C. 2001. Änderung der Bundesartenschutzverordnung in Aussicht gestellt. Elaphe 9 (1): 21-23
  • Mirlach, G. 2007. Ihr Hobby: Testudo marginata, Breitrandschildkröten. Bede Verlag, Ruhmannsfelden, 96 pp.
  • Mizsei, Edvárd; Daniel Jablonski; Zsolt Végvári; Szabolcs Lengyel & Márton Szabolcs 2017. Distribution and diversity of reptiles in Albania: a novel database from a Mediterranean hotspot. Amphibia-Reptilia 38: 157-173 - get paper here
  • Parham, James F.; Macey, J. Robert; Papenfuss, Theodore J.; Feldman, Chris R.; Turkozan, Oguz; Polymeni, Rosa; Boore, Jeffrey 2006. The phylogeny of Mediterranean tortoises and their close relatives based on complete mitochondrial genome sequences from museum specimens. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38(1):50-64 [2005] - get paper here
  • PERÄLÄ, J. 2004. Nomenclatural validity of the name Testudo weissingeri BOUR, 1995 [Short Note]. Herpetozoa 17: - get paper here
  • Perälä, Jarmo 2002. Occurrence and taxonomic significance of thigh-spurs in Testudo marginata Schoepff, 1792 and Testudo weissingeri Bour, 1995 (Testudines: Testudinidae). Herpetozoa 14 (3/4):123-126. - get paper here
  • PEREZ, MELANIE;ROGER BOUR; JOSIE LAMBOURDIERE; SARAH SAMADI and MARIE-CATHERINE BOISSELIER 2006. Primer note: Isolation and characterization of eight microsatellite loci for the study of gene flow between Testudo marginata and Testudo weissingeri (Testudines: Testudinidae). Molecular Ecology Notes 6: 1096–1098 - get paper here
  • Philippen, H.D. 2007. Hinter den Kulissen einer slowenischen Schildkrötenfarm. Draco 8 (32): 79-86 - get paper here
  • Pieh, A. & Philippen, H.D. 2007. Mediterrane Landschildkröten. Draco 8 (32): 4-34 - get paper here
  • Plessas, A. 2002. Herp hound experience in Greece. Reptilia (GB) (21): 8-10 - get paper here
  • Rogner, M. 2007. Die Breitrandschildkröte (Testudo marginata). Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster, 109 pp. - get paper here
  • Rogner, M. 2013. Eine verhängnisvolle Affäre. Reptilia (Münster) 18 (102): 44-47 - get paper here
  • Sacchi, Roberto; Daniele Pellitteri-Rosa, Manuela Marchesi, Paolo Galeotti, and Mauro Fasola 2013. A Comparison among Sexual Signals in Courtship of European Tortoises. Journal of Herpetology Jun 2013, Vol. 47, No. 2: 215-221. - get paper here
  • Salvi, Daniele; Pierluigi Bombi 2010. Reptiles of Sardinia: updating the knowledge on their distribution. Acta Herpetologica 5 (2): 161-178 - get paper here
  • Schoepff, J.D. 1792. Historia Testudinum Iconibus Illustrata. [part 1]. J.J. Palm, Erlangae [=Erlangen]. xii + 136 pp. [pp. 1-32] - get paper here
  • Sindaco, R. & Jeremcenko, V.K. 2008. The reptiles of the Western Palearctic. Edizioni Belvedere, Latina (Italy), 579 pp. - get paper here
  • Sindaco, Roberto; Alberto Venchi, Giuseppe M. Carpaneto, Marco A. Bologna 2000. The Reptiles of Anatolia: a Checklist and Zoogeographical analysis. Biogeographia, 21-2000: 441-554. - get paper here
  • Sperone, Emilio 2020. New distributional records of Testudo marginata Schoepff, 1793 in Southern Italy. Herpetology Notes 13: 977-97 - get paper here
  • Sperone, Emilio;Antonio Crescente,Elvira Brunelli, Giuseppe Paolillo, Sandro Tripepi 2010. Sightings and successful reproduction of allochthonous reptiles in Calabria. Acta Herpetologica 5 (2): 265-273 - get paper here
  • Stemmler-Gyger,O. 1963. Ein Beitrag zur Brutbiologie der mediterranen Landschildkröten. Aquar. Terr. Z. (Stuttgart) 16: 180-183
  • Stemmler-Gyger,O. 1964. Zur Brutbiologie der mediterranen Landschildkröten (II(). Aquaria (Neuhausen) 11: 164-169 - get paper here
  • Stemmler-Gyger,O. 1964. Zur Brutbiologie der mediterranen Landschildkröten (II). Aqua Terra (Biberist) 1 (9): 65-68 - get paper here
  • Tóth, Tamás, László Krecsák, Thomas Madsen and Beáta Újvári 2002. Herpetofaunal locality records on the Greek Islands of Corfu (Amphibia, Reptilia). Herpetozoa 15 (3/4):149-169 - get paper here
  • Trapp, B. 2003. Testudo marginata SCHOEPFF 1792 - Breitrandschildkröte. Reptilia (Münster) 8 (41): 51-54 - get paper here
  • Trapp, B. 2003. Testudo marginata - Marginated Tortoise. Reptilia (GB) (31): 39-42 - get paper here
  • Trapp, B. 2005. Das Haus in Kotronas. Reptilia (Münster) 10 (53): 40-45 - get paper here
  • Trapp, B. 2007. Reptilien und Amphibien des griechischen Festlandes. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 300 pp. - get paper here
  • Trapp, Benny 2010. Artenmarathon auf Sardinien. Draco 11 (42): 54-64
  • Trutnau, L. 1975. Europäische Amphibien und Reptilien. Belser Verlag, Stuttgart 212 pp.
  • TTWG; Anders G.J. Rhodin, John B. iverson, Roger Bour, Uwe Fritz, Arthur GeoRges, H. BRadley Shaffer, and Peter Paul van Dijk 2017. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (8th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Pritchard, P.C.H., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Ed Chelonian Research Monographs 7:1–292. doi: 10.3854/crm.7.checklist.atlas.v8.2017 - get paper here
  • TTWG; Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R., Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van Dijk, P.P. 2021. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Chelonian Research Monographs 8:1–472. doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021. - get paper here
  • Türkozan, Oguz, Yusuf Kumlutas and Çetin Ilgaz 2001. On the possible occurrence of the Marginated Tortoise, Testudo marginata, in Turkey. Chelonian Conserv. Biol. 4 (1): 208-210.
  • Tzoras, E., Panagiotopoulos, A., & Papaioannou, S. 2021. FIRST RECORD OF TESTUDO MARGINATA (CHELONIA: TESTUDINIDAE) FROM THE ISLAND OF SAMOS, GREECE (EASTERN AEGEAN). PARNASSIANA ARCHIVES 9: 11-14 - get paper here
  • van der Kuyl, Antoinette C.; Donato L. Ph. Ballasina, John T. Dekker, Jolanda Maas, Ronald E. Willemsen and Jaap Goudsmit 2002. Phylogenetic Relationships among the Species of the Genus Testudo (Testudines: Testudinidae) Inferred from Mitochondrial 12S rRNA Gene Sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 22: 174-183 - get paper here
  • Wirth, M. 2010. Die Breitrandschildkröte, Testudo marginata - Schwarze Riesen aus der griechischen Phrygana Terraria (22) 5 (2): 32-43.
  • Wirth, M. 2013. Das Schildkrötenjahr - Freilandbiologie und Haltung europäischer Landschildkröten über den Jahresverlauf. Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster, 279 pp. - get paper here
  • Wirth, Michael 2012. Immer der Größe angemessen – die erfolgreiche Haltung und Aufzucht von Schlüpflingen und Jungtieren im Freilandterrarium. Draco 12 (49): 50-61
  • Wirth, Michael 2012. Frühbeet oder Gewächshaus –das perfekte Schutzhaus im Schildkrötengehege. Draco 12 (49): 18-39
  • Wirth, Michael 2012. Und das alles für die Schildkröten …. Terraria-Elaphe 2012 (2): 84-89 - get paper here
  • Wirth, Michael 2013. Überwinterung europäischer Landschildkröten - naturnah oder kontrolliert? Draco 14 (55): 66-73 - get paper here
  • Wirth, Michael 2013. Schildkrötenernährung, aber artgerecht – eine Praxisanleitung. Draco 13 (54): 20-29 - get paper here
  • Zauner, Jochen 2023. Herpetologische Beobachtungen auf dem Peloponnes (Griechenland). Sauria 45 (4): 1-17
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator