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Testudo marginata SCHOEPFF, 1792

IUCN Red List - Testudo marginata - Least Concern, LC
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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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • Herz, Mario. 2016. Weitere Beobachtungen an Breitrandschildkröten in Griechenland. Radiata 25 (2): 4-15
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  • Kwet, Axel & Benny Trapp 2014. Reptilien in Europa – eine aktuelle Übersicht. Draco 15 (60): 6-25 - get paper here
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  • 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
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  • Philippen, H.D. 2007. Hinter den Kulissen einer slowenischen Schildkrötenfarm. Draco 8 (32): 79-86 - get paper here
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  • Rogner, M. 2013. Eine verhängnisvolle Affäre. Reptilia (Münster) 18 (102): 44-47 - get paper here
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  • Wirth, Michael 2012. Immer der Größe angemessen – die erfolgreiche Haltung und Aufzucht von Schlüpflingen und Jungtieren im Freilandterrarium. Draco 12 (49): 50-61
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