# Greek tortoise (*Testudo graeca*)

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

The greek tortoise (Testudo graeca) is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, belonging to the family Testudinidae and the order Testudines. It is a medium-sized species, with an adult body mass of 1.43 kg, and our sources report a lifespan of 127 years. It reaches sexual maturity at 12.5 years, lays clutches of 5 eggs at a rate of 3.2 clutches per year, and its eggs incubate for 78 days. The IUCN Red List classifies the greek tortoise as Vulnerable (VU) in its global assessment, an IUCN threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.43 kg |
| Length | up to 18.5 cm |
| Lifespan | 127 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Egg incubation | 78 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 – 21 |
| Age at maturity | 12 years – 12.6 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 – 3.2 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Testudines
- family: Testudinidae
- genus: Testudo
- species: *Testudo graeca* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Furculachelys nabeulensis*, *Testudo anamurensis*, *Testudo antakyensis*, *Testudo buxtoni*, *Testudo dagestanica*, *Testudo ecaudata*, *Testudo flavominimaralis*, *Testudo floweri*, *Testudo georgicana*, *Testudo graeca anamurensis*, *Testudo graeca nikolskii*, *Testudo graeca pallasi*, *Testudo ibera*, *Testudo ibera bicaudalis*, *Testudo ibera racovitzai*, *Testudo ibera var. bicaudalis*, *Testudo marginata whitei*, *Testudo mauritanica*, *Testudo nikolskii*, *Testudo pallasi*, *Testudo perses*, *Testudo terrestris*, *Testudo whitei*, *Testudo zarudnyi*, *Testudo zohalfa*, *Testudo zolkafa*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the greek tortoise?

The greek tortoise is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, classified in the family Testudinidae, genus Testudo.

### How heavy is a greek tortoise?

An adult Greek tortoise has a body mass of 1.43 kg, which places it in the medium size class (1 to 25 kg).

### Is the greek tortoise endangered?

The greek tortoise is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is an IUCN threatened category.

### How long does a greek tortoise live?

Our sources report a lifespan of 127 years for the greek tortoise.

### How many eggs does a greek tortoise lay?

The greek tortoise lays 5 eggs per clutch, at a rate of 3.2 clutches per year, and the eggs incubate for 78 days.

### When does a greek tortoise reach sexual maturity?

The greek tortoise reaches sexual maturity at 12.5 years, with reported values from 12.0 to 12.6 years.

### Who named the greek tortoise?

The greek tortoise, Testudo graeca, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.

### What are other names for the greek tortoise?

Other English names for the greek tortoise are common tortoise, Moorish tortoise, spur-thighed tortoise and Mediterranean spur-thighed 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: Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/greek-tortoise