tortoise – The Good Turtle Blog

The King of Tonga

That little circle? That’s Tonga–or officially known as the Kingdom of Tonga. It’s a Polynesian sovereign state consisting of an archipelago of 176 tiny islands, residing in the Pacific Ocean. The average square-footage of the whole state is 290 sq mi of land. Rhode Island (the smallest state in the US) is 1,214 sq mi, roughly 4 times the size of the entire Kingdom of Tonga. About 103,000 people inhabit 52 of the islands, mainly Tongatapu.

But as much as Tonga is a sovereign state, they did have a king.

His name was Tu’i Malila, or King Malila in the Tongan language.

Tu’i Malila was a radiated turtle (Geochelone radiata) originally from Madagascar. Currently, he is the longest-lived tortoise that has been verified according to the Guinness World Records.

According to records, Tu’i Malila was given to the Tonga royal family by Captain James Cook as a hatchling in July of 1777.

Captain Cook was a British explorer and navigator and was captain of the Royal Navy. He was the first recorded European explorer to reach the eastern coast of Australia, the Hawaiian Islands, and the first one to circumnavigate New Zealand. He found Tu’i Malila on one of his later voyages and gave him to the Tonga royal family at the time of his visit.

Other sources claim that George Tupou I inherited Tu’i Malila from a vessel in Ha’apai from the first half of the 19th century. At the time, he was king of Ha’apai in Tonga, fighting with other overlords.

Tu’i Malila remained in the care of the Tonga royal family until his death. In 1953, during Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Tour of Tonga, Tu’i Malila was shown to the monarch at the time having been an icon for the royal family. The above picture shows Queen Elizabeth II meeting the 176-year-old tortoise.

Tu’i Malila died of natural causes on May 19th, 1965. He is the longest-lived tortoise in the Guinness World Records, having lived to be 188 years old. Currently, the Tongan National Center on Tongatapu holds the preserved body of Tu’i Malila on display.

There are rumors that a male Aldabra giant tortoise in Kolkata, India lived to be 255 years old, having died in 2006. However, there is no firm proof of the birth year to verify that this tortoise lived longer than Tu’i Malila. This means that Tu’i Malila remains at the head of the throne.

Greek Diaspora

My friends seem to be amused by my “obsession” with turtles. I don’t really know where they see my obsession, but if it’s amusing all the same then so be it. I live to entertain.

Anyways, so as to amuse my friends with another “obsession,” I thought I would do some subsequent research on the spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca). I recently noted these guys as the cousin of the pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri) in the previous blog, Got Syrup?? The spur-thighed tortoise is also called the Greek tortoise, which I will probably refer to it as so because it’s shorter.

The reason I wanted to do research on the Greek tortoise is that I am mildly obsessed with Greek mythology. There was a time where I actually did convert to polytheism, worshiping the gods and goddesses at my own poorly-handmade temples. My patron god was Poseidon, and when I’m feeling like a polytheist, he still is. Now, I’m not overly religious, but I was born a Roman Catholic. I have no qualms with anyone who is otherwise–you believe what you believe, and frankly nowadays I have more faith in science than I do in anything else. Again, not saying that there isn’t a god or gods or deities, but that doesn’t mean that there are things even science can’t do.

I’m getting off topic.

The Greek tortoise is one of five Mediterranean tortoises, along with Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni), the Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii), the Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni), and the marginated tortoise (Testudo marginata).

Greek tortoises typically have large symmetrical patterns on their head, with large scales marking their limbs. They have an undivided carapace that’s mainly marked with dirty brown and tan colors, taking on a more oblong, rectangular shape. The name “spur-thighed” comes from their notable spurs on their thighs. Additionally, they have individual plates on their hind end, on the underside, that help them to move.

There are a several subspecies of the Greek tortoise:

T. g. graeca
- These guys are mainly located in Southern Spain and northern parts of Africa.
T. g. marokkensis
- T. g. marokkensis are primarily found in Northern Morocco.
T. g. terrestris
- This subspecies can be found in areas of Israel and Lebanon mostly.
T. g. whitei
- Algeria is the home to many of these guys.
T. g. ibera
- Symbolized in the first picture, these guys are native to areas of Turkey.
T. g. zarudnyi
- These guys are found around Iran and Azerbaijan.
T. g. soussensis
- Counterpart to T. g. marokkensis, T. g. soussensis holds home ground in southern parts of Morocco.
T. g. buxtoni
- These guys surround the Caspian Sea, even though they are land-dwellers.
T. g. nabeulensis
- Also known as the Tunisian spur-thighed tortoise, this subspecies is primarily located in, you guessed it, Tunisia.
T. g. armenaica
- Most of these guys call Armenia home, and can also be called the Armenian tortoise.
T. g. cyrenaica
- These guys are mainly located in Libya.

As you can see, there are several subspecies that are hardly distinguishable into their own individual species. This essentially means that the Greek tortoise, in a more general sense, is very widely distributed throughout the Middle East, Europe, and parts of Africa. Sources indicate that the only differences in subspecies are the size, weight, coloration, and carapace characteristics. There has been little to no genetic difference noted yet–at least not as far as I could find. On top of this, though, there are several names for the general Greek tortoise, such as T. g. anamurensis, and for that reason, some of the subspecies have been placed in other genera so as not to confuse half the world’s population.

Additionally, these subspecies are able to cross mate, forming virile and viable offspring that are more than capable of reproducing even more tortoises that come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Perhaps this is why there is not a certain genetic distinction.

*T. g. zarudnyi*. Compare this to the first picture of T. g. ibera.

In general, the Greek tortoise ranges all over the Mediterranean area, as well as crossing over Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Georgia and Iran. I would not be surprised if a select few made it across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan borders.

There isn’t much else mentioned on the Greek tortoise in general, probably because the species is so diverse that there are so many varying points to it. Presumably, the majority of the Greek tortoise are herbivorous, where they will eat any edible vegetation that they can find.

These guys are capable of hibernating, unlike the pancake tortoise, which mainly aestivates. However, there isn’t any details on how long or when the Greek tortoise hibernates. It’s likely that each subspecies has varying lengths of hibernation based on the types of environments they prefer to live in. My guess is that they prefer to hibernate in much warmer temperatures, much like the pancake tortoise aestivates in hotter temperatures to control any sort of damage.

Just as well, there isn’t much information on any sort of predators for these guys. My assumption, based on other information gathered from other species, is that T. g. would be susceptible to bigger reptiles or snakes that are likely to feed off any eggs. Additionally, any organism that can agitate T. g. could be a contender. I think that hatchlings and eggs are more vulnerable than the adults; however, it’s possible that smaller adults are vulnerable to larger reptiles and mammals that prefer to dine on them.

Some possibilities of predators could be the common egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis scabra), the large psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus algirus), or the spotted whip snake (Hemorrhois ravergieri).

I got at least a little bit of information on mating. Apparently there is a mating routine between males and females of T. graeca. Mating season typically starts right after hibernation is over. Males will encircle females, bite them, agitate them, and attempt to mount them. Surprisingly, during copulation, males will open their mouths to show their red tongues and emit sounds.

Females can lay more than one egg from just one male over one season. Roughly two weeks before the egg-laying, females will become agitated and start smelling and digging around to find a spot to lay the egg. Typically a day or two before the egg is laid, a female will take on a more dominant role and can imitate a male during copulation. The reason she does this is so she gains respect in the tortoise community and preferably won’t be bothered when she lays her eggs.

When a female deposits her eggs, if the ground is too hard to dig a hole, she will release liquid from her anal gland that softens the soil so she can dig. Once all the eggs are laid, a female will cover the hole before stamping on it to harden the soil again. A female can have roughly 15 eggs per clutch, and can lay up to three times in one season.

The eggs will incubate for 100 days on average before hatching. Once the hatchlings break free of their shells, it is likely that they are left on their own to grow. It is unknown how long these guys can live.

Currently, the Greek spur-thighed tortoise is listed as vulnerable as of 2006 by the IUCN. Mostly T. graeca is bred in captivity, as far as is known. They are protected by general, global turtle conservation programs and any laws or statements that are made in individual countries, but there isn’t much that states just how people are helping to support and protect these species.

It may be better to first gather more information on the individual subspecies and have the ability to characterize each subspecies. Unfortunately, that may be harder to do since inter-subspecies breeding is possible and highly likely.

Some more interesting facts about the Greek tortoise:

1. T. g. nabeulensis is the smallest of the subspecies (weighing in at roughly 1.5 lbs), and is considered the prettiest. They have a particularly brighter coloration than most of the other subspecies members. However, the curse of their daintiness is that they are also more sensitive to their environments. Drastic changes in the temperature, cold, rainy weather will make these guys ill, which is why, when kept as pets, they cannot remain outdoors. They also cannot do long hibernation.

2. T. graeca closely resembles the T. marginata, and the two are actually capable of mating and producing viable offspring, which could also add to the indistinguishable features of T. graeca subspecies if they have relations with various T. marginata to add to the mess.

3. Males and females are anatomically and characteristically different in six different ways. One, much like the pancake tortoise, males are generally smaller than the females. Two, males’ posterior plates actually flange outward, whereas females’ posterior plates face more inwards. Three, males have tails that are more tapered to a point. They are also noticeably longer, too. Four, the posterior portion of the female carapace is narrower, but longer. Males have a wider carapace in the rear, but they aren’t as long. Five, males are curved more on the underside than a female is. Six, the cloacal opening is much farther from the base of the tail for males than it is for females.

Female *T. graeca* (left) and male *T. graeca* (right). I don’t blame them for hiding.

4. T. graeca is often confused with T. hermanni, however, each of them have slight differences. T. g. ibera is the most confused of the subspecies. T. hermanni tend to have smaller scales on the head and on the front legs, a divided tail carapace, isolated flecks on spinal plates, two underside black bands, no spurs, oval shell shape, smaller spinal plates, and fixed underside plates.

5. A female T. graeca was a 165-year-old spur-thighed tortoise, holding the position of the UK’s oldest known resident. It was thought that she was born around the year 1839, and had died April 3rd, 2004. Despite her gender, her name was Timothy, as a result of the lack of ability to sex reptiles back in the 19th century.

Timothy, the female Greek tortoise. Note the upside down name tag.

Captain John Courtenay Everard (of the Royal Navy) found Timothy aboard a Portuguese privateer back in 1854. If her birth year is correct, this would have made Timothy 15 years old when she was found. From there she was the Navy’s mascot until 1892, landing on a series of naval vesicles since she was found. She was the last survivor of the Crimean War, supposedly, having been a mascot of HMS Queen during the first bombardment of Sevastopol. Subsequently, she was mascot on the HMS Princess Charlotte and HMS Nankin, before being adopted by the Earl of Devon at Powderham Castle to retire on land. The family then decided it would be okay to enscribe their motto: “Where have I fallen? What have I done?” on her underside (because that’s completely humane….).

The family decided in 1926 that Timothy should mate; thus, finding out that “he” was in fact a she. Nonetheless, Timothy’s mating sessions were unsuccessful, which is unfortunate. At the time, she would have been 87 years old, so it makes sense that she wouldn’t sire any offspring.

Timothy died at the possible age of 165 in Devon on April 3rd, 2004, where she was then buried near Powderham Castle to represent a life well lived. She is just outshined by another tortoise named Jonathan, thought to have been born in 1832 and still going strong.

Got Syrup??

Hello! It’s early in the morning–well, mid-morning, really–as it is 8 am. This is typically when my stomach tells me it’s time for breakfast, so I am enjoying a sticky breakfast.

Pancakes!

While I have no aversion to french toast and strawberries, pancakes are my favorite breakfast. Especially when it’s St. Patrick’s Day and my mom makes them with green dye to be somewhat festive. For some reason, we also make them with red and blue dye on New Year’s Day.

So I thought it would be fitting to tell you about Malacochersus tornieri.

Pancake tortoise!

This beautiful guy is native to Tanzania and Kenya. He’s also the first land-dwelling turtle that I will talk about. I was feeling bad that I kept focusing on sea turtles so I thought I would start paying tribute to some tortoises, too.

As you can probably guess, these guys are called pancakes because of their flat shape. Their shells can be up to 7 inches long, and unlike other tortoises, these guys have more openings in their shell bones which makes them faster and more agile than other tortoises. Their shells are generally all tan-brown, but each scute can have a variable yet frequent pattern of dark lines that kind of make it look like a pancake doused in syrup. Their plastron is a darker yellow, with brown seams and light yellow rays. Their heads and flippers are marked with mainly tan, brown colors, mixed with some yellows. This actually helps them to camouflage in their native environments.

Additionally, adults can weigh between 1 and 3 lbs, so these guys aren’t too big at all. They would be incredibly dwarfed by the leatherback sea turtle (see previous post).

As aforementioned, the pancake turtle is mainly found in southern Kenya as well as eastern and northern parts of Tanzania. Additionally, it’s possible that they can be found in parts of Zimbabwe and Zambia as an introduced or migratory species. These guys like the hillsides, hiding around kopjes (rocky outcrops) in thorn scrub and savanna. They love the arid areas that can be anywhere from 100 to 6,000 feet above recorded sea levels.

It’s been noted that they inhabit the Somalia-Masai floristic region.

These guys love to bask in the sun. I know I like to, although I don’t know if I’d be able to do it in the heat and cold of Africa. However, unlike me, sources indicate that the pancake turtle is more active during the morning hours and, more like me, the late afternoon and early evening.

Diet: The pancake tortoise is way into vegetation and dry grasses. They are herbivores.

Hatchling pancake tortoise among vegetation.

One of the best things about the pancake tortoise is their flatness, as I said earlier. Their flat shape and shell bone openings make them faster and more agile. If they are hunted by predators, they rely on their agility and flexibility to escape to the nearest kojpe or crevice, instead of withdrawing into their shells when agitated. This also means that they don’t wander too far from their home base.

I’ve also seen some sources refer to these guys as the crevice tortoise, which makes sense. The pancake tortoise live in isolated colonies in their own kopjes, or their own crevices. Much like hippos and lions, the males will fight each other to mate with the females, where it’s likely that, at least most of the time, the larger male wins. This can be why it might be hard to breed the pancake tortoises in captivity.

Wild clutches are usually deposited in July and August. Females will make nests at roughly 7 to 10 cm deep in loose, sandy soil. Unlike most sea turtles, pancake tortoises deposit one egg at a time, where there is a 4 to 8 week period in between nesting. In captivity, typically the egg is incubated for 6 to 8 weeks. This means that these guys have a low reproduction rate. Once an egg hatches, the young tortoise is left to be independent.

Hatchling pancake tortoise compared to a US quarter.

The pancake tortoise can have an array of predators. The eggs are susceptible to local snakes and other animals as a source of food. The adults don’t particularly have as many predators, but larger snakes and reptiles may want to dine, in which case the adult could just dart back to the kojpe.

Honestly, there isn’t much research done on these guys. There aren’t particular details that I could find that was generally mentioned, but one thing that is slightly concerning is that the IUCN lists the pancake tortoise as vulnerable. They are listed as a CITES II. That actually makes this species the most well-off species mentioned on this blog so far.

A lot of their decline is due to human involvement, specifically with habitat degradation and over-exploitation. The pancake tortoise is often sold in pet trade. The elimination of thorn scrub in Kenya and the over-grazing of goats and domestics in Tanzania add to an already degrading habitat. The pancake tortoise is currently protected under the Wildlife Conservation (National Game) Order of 1974 in Tanzania. Kenya decided to make trade of this species illegal unless given strict permission from the Minister for the Environmental and Natural Resources, initiating in 1981. They are protected in the Serengeti National Park.

Additionally, in 1988 the EU banned pancake tortoise import, yet trading with EU members still continues, with reports of importing the species. On top of that, the pancake tortoise is most commonly bred in captivity and is important in coordinated breeding programs in European zoos.

Yet despite all of this, there is no commercial trading of the pancake tortoise supporting the marketed supply.

Some more interesting facts about the pancake tortoise:

1. They are the only member of the genus, Malacochersus. This means that, as far as other tortoises go, these guys have no brothers or sisters. Although they do have a lot of cousins and aunts and uncles that they are still related to, such as the Greek tortoise, Testudo graeca, or the common box turtle, Terrapene carolina.

2. Pancake tortoises are typically pets now, bred in captivity. While it is unknown how long they can live up to in the wild, most pancake turtles when treated properly can exceed 20 years of life in captivity. Along with box turtles and red-eared sliders, these guys are one of the most common pet tortoises, handled by more intermediately-experienced people.

3. A now-twelve-year-old pancake tortoise at the Bristol Zoo had to have a bladder stone surgically removed back in 2008. Polly, at the time, was only five when she had to undergo an hour-long operation to remove a bladder stone that would have eventually killed her in a few weeks or a month’s time. Bladder stones are typically mineral masses that form in concentrated urine in the bladder. For frame of reference, kidney stones are mineral masses that are found in the kidneys. Both kidney stones and bladder stones can exit via the urinary tract; however, Polly’s bladder stone decided to stick around. The zoo stated that Polly was around 5.5 inches in total length, which is average for a pancake tortoise. The bladder stone she had was 1.2 inches by 1.5 inches and weighed 19 g.

Pretty in red: Polly, a pancake tortoise at Bristol Zoo, eating dinner and recovering from a bladder stone removal.

Honestly, as I was reading this, my body cringed. I tried to find the human equivalent, but then I came across what a jackstone calculus is. Jackstone calculi are rare bladder stones that resemble toy jacks, which just made me cringe even more. However, there is no average weight for bladder stones. Usually they can cause common urinary tract infections and can be caused by inflammation of the bladder or other part of the urinary tract. Poor Polly must have been in so much pain.

4. Females are larger than the males in size, usually. I found this quite interesting that a source gave information that males were on average 6 inches in length while females were listed as 7 inches. I don’t know how accurate this information is, but I cannot find information that counters it. Plus, it came from a care sheet from the World Chelonian Trust, which is a non-profit organization based in California that promotes the conservation and safety of all tortoises and freshwater turtles, which could essentially prove some form of validity.

Not to mention, Polly was 5.5 inches, so unless she has some growing to do this might not be too accurate.

5. Pancake tortoises exhibit aestivation, which is a state of dormancy similar to hibernation. Often times animals that aestivate are immobile, inactive, and have a lowered metabolic rate. Typically, vertebrates that aestivate do so to avoid high temperature damage and dessication. Since the pancake tortoise lives in arid environments of Africa, it makes sense that they would aestivate to avoid self-damage from the hotter temperatures.

Aestivation is much like a light state of dormancy, where if necessary, it can be reversed in the case of an emergency and an organism can return to a normal state next to immediately. It’s much like how a human would wake up suddenly in the middle of the night after being in a complete unconscious state.

Desert tortoises typically hide in dark crevices or partially underground to avoid higher surface temperatures and embrace much cooler temperatures during their lifetime before aestivating to conserve themselves.

Pancake tortoise, possibly aestivating under partial ground.

And, once again, pancakes (not meant to be cruel):