HermanniChris said:
Fantastic!
When you have the time, give us more info on Sicilian Spurred Testudo hermanni hermanni...I've only once read any reference on it, and the details were VERY limited.
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Fantastic!
When you have the time, give us more info on Sicilian Spurred Testudo hermanni hermanni...I've only once read any reference on it, and the details were VERY limited.
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No problem.
I've put up some good info on them on my site here: http://www.hermannihaven.com/#!sicilian-tortoises/chld
But to give you an idea, they are a distinct population occurring on the Italian island of Sicily. They are considering proposing them as a new subspecies sometime in the near future.
Like the other island tortoises (Sardinia & Corsica but excluding the Balearic islands hermanni) their size is sometimes larger than mainland specimens. While Sicilian tortoises typically do not attain the dimensions that Sardinian ones do, there are some that are quite bigger than ones usually found in areas like Calabria, Tuscany and Umbria. They exhibit the classic "gular mustache" which is found in Sardinian and Corsican tortoises too. This is when one or two black stripes or large spots are found only on the inner sides of the gular scutes underneath the neck but not on the outside part that touches the ground when the tortoise rests. One trait that separates them from Sardinian and Coriscan tortoises is the number of nails on each front foot. Sicilians may have 4 on both feet, 5 on both feet or 4 on one and 5 on the other. The others will usually have only 4 claws on each front foot. The carapace is flatter and broader than usual, the highest point is sometimes situated toward the back end instead of the middle or front and when viewed from a bird's eye, the overall shape is more trapezoidal than in mainland hermanni. The color of the carapace is a vibrant, bright yellow-green with jet black markings sometimes appearing as stripes. The head is very sleek with regular contours and the beak is usually noticeably hooked. The yellow cheek spot is extremely loud and can be seen from a distance even in old tortoises. Bright yellow-green flecks and spotting is found around the nostrils and at the back of the head. Aside from this, they have all the typical features of Testudo hermanni hermanni in regards to the black plastral bands, a divided supracaudal shield, keyhole symbol on the fifth vertebral scute, black marking on the 4th vertebral always present, light colored skin and nails and the femoral scute seam on the plastron is longer than that of the pectoral.
Sicilian hermanni experience a much shorter hibernation than other Italian populations and may be exposed to moderately cool temperatures for usually no more than two months max.
The most intriguing trait is of course the presence of thigh spurs on each thigh thus giving them the name "Sicilian spurred". Like T. graeca, they have one or more raised tubercles on each thigh. Some of course do not have them. These spurred tortoises are NOT a hybrid with the Greek tortoise. DNA has already proven that and they do not even closely resemble Greeks. Instead, this is a distinguishing characteristic unique to their locality. Only very occasionally will one find spurs on a mainland hermanni. Some Sardinian and Corsican tortoises will have them but they are not seen as often as in Sicilians.
On Sicily, there are 3 distinct populations of T. h. hermanni. These "Spurred" specimens are found on or around the Madonie on the island. Then there is the Nebrodie population which are large and extremely dark colored and the Mount Etna population which are considered the smallest of all T. h. hermanni groups in existence. These are also very dark in color.
Hope all this helps. Here are a few close ups of some examples of my "Sicilian Spurreds" from the Madonie:
I've put up some good info on them on my site here: http://www.hermannihaven.com/#!sicilian-tortoises/chld
But to give you an idea, they are a distinct population occurring on the Italian island of Sicily. They are considering proposing them as a new subspecies sometime in the near future.
Like the other island tortoises (Sardinia & Corsica but excluding the Balearic islands hermanni) their size is sometimes larger than mainland specimens. While Sicilian tortoises typically do not attain the dimensions that Sardinian ones do, there are some that are quite bigger than ones usually found in areas like Calabria, Tuscany and Umbria. They exhibit the classic "gular mustache" which is found in Sardinian and Corsican tortoises too. This is when one or two black stripes or large spots are found only on the inner sides of the gular scutes underneath the neck but not on the outside part that touches the ground when the tortoise rests. One trait that separates them from Sardinian and Coriscan tortoises is the number of nails on each front foot. Sicilians may have 4 on both feet, 5 on both feet or 4 on one and 5 on the other. The others will usually have only 4 claws on each front foot. The carapace is flatter and broader than usual, the highest point is sometimes situated toward the back end instead of the middle or front and when viewed from a bird's eye, the overall shape is more trapezoidal than in mainland hermanni. The color of the carapace is a vibrant, bright yellow-green with jet black markings sometimes appearing as stripes. The head is very sleek with regular contours and the beak is usually noticeably hooked. The yellow cheek spot is extremely loud and can be seen from a distance even in old tortoises. Bright yellow-green flecks and spotting is found around the nostrils and at the back of the head. Aside from this, they have all the typical features of Testudo hermanni hermanni in regards to the black plastral bands, a divided supracaudal shield, keyhole symbol on the fifth vertebral scute, black marking on the 4th vertebral always present, light colored skin and nails and the femoral scute seam on the plastron is longer than that of the pectoral.
Sicilian hermanni experience a much shorter hibernation than other Italian populations and may be exposed to moderately cool temperatures for usually no more than two months max.
The most intriguing trait is of course the presence of thigh spurs on each thigh thus giving them the name "Sicilian spurred". Like T. graeca, they have one or more raised tubercles on each thigh. Some of course do not have them. These spurred tortoises are NOT a hybrid with the Greek tortoise. DNA has already proven that and they do not even closely resemble Greeks. Instead, this is a distinguishing characteristic unique to their locality. Only very occasionally will one find spurs on a mainland hermanni. Some Sardinian and Corsican tortoises will have them but they are not seen as often as in Sicilians.
On Sicily, there are 3 distinct populations of T. h. hermanni. These "Spurred" specimens are found on or around the Madonie on the island. Then there is the Nebrodie population which are large and extremely dark colored and the Mount Etna population which are considered the smallest of all T. h. hermanni groups in existence. These are also very dark in color.
Hope all this helps. Here are a few close ups of some examples of my "Sicilian Spurreds" from the Madonie:
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That top one is aKNOCKOUT beauty!
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Chris that is terrific. Congrats!!!
That's something.
Annette
That's something.
Annette
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