# Central Asian tortoise (*Testudo horsfieldii*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/central-asian-tortoise  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The central Asian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, belonging to the family Testudinidae and the genus Testudo. It is a medium-sized tortoise with a representative adult body mass of 1.018 kg. It reaches sexual maturity at 10 years, lays 4 eggs per clutch and 3 clutches per year, and its eggs incubate for 75.5 days. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Vulnerable (VU), an IUCN threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.02 kg |
| Length | up to 49.4 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 40 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | desert, shrubland |
| Egg incubation | 75.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 |
| Age at maturity | 10 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 3 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Testudines
- family: Testudinidae
- genus: Testudo
- species: *Testudo horsfieldii* Gray, 1844

Synonyms: *Agrionemys bogdanovi*, *Agrionemys horsfieldi kazachstanica*, *Agrionemys horsfieldi rustamovi*, *Agrionemys kazachstanica kuznetzovi*, *Agrionemys kazachstanica terbishi*, *Homopus burnesii*, *Testudo baluchiorum*, *Testudo horsfieldii terbishi*, *Testudo kazachstanica terbishi*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the central Asian tortoise?

The central Asian tortoise is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, classified in the order Testudines and the family Testudinidae.

### How heavy is the central Asian tortoise?

Its representative adult body mass is 1.018 kg, which places it in the medium size class.

### Is the central Asian tortoise endangered?

It is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is an IUCN threatened category.

### How many eggs does the central Asian tortoise lay?

It lays 4 eggs per clutch and 3 clutches per year, and the eggs incubate for 75.5 days.

### At what age does the central Asian tortoise reach maturity?

It reaches sexual maturity at 10 years (3,652 days).

### Who named Testudo horsfieldii?

Testudo horsfieldii was named by Gray, 1844.

### What are other names for the central Asian tortoise?

It is also called the Afghan tortoise, Steppe tortoise, Russian tortoise, Four-toed tortoise and Horsfield's tortoise.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Central Asian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/central-asian-tortoise