Hermann's tortoise
Testudo hermanni Gmelin, 1789
VUVulnerableturtles and tortoises
Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, belonging to the family Testudinidae in the order Testudines. It is a medium-sized tortoise with an adult body mass of 1.264 kg, with reported values from 1.249 kg to 1.28 kg.
Quick facts about the hermann's tortoise
The IUCN Red List assesses Hermann's tortoise as Vulnerable (VU) globally, which is a threatened category. It reaches sexual maturity at 12.5 years, has a clutch size of 4.5 with 1.7 clutches per year, and its eggs incubate for 68 days.
- Weight
- 1.25 kg – 1.28 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 28 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 40 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 127 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Egg incubation
- 68 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2 – 12src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 years – 12.7 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.67 – 3src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the hermann's tortoise
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the hermann's tortoise live?
Not recorded
What is the hermann's tortoise?
The Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) is a species of tortoise native to Europe.
From the Wikipedia article “Hermann's tortoise” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hermann%27s_tortoise&oldid=1381950850), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the hermann's tortoise endangered?
The hermann's tortoise is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the hermann's tortoise classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderTestudines
- familyTestudinidae
- genusTestudo
- SpeciesTestudo hermanni Gmelin, 1789
Synonyms Testudo enriquesi, Testudo graeca bettai, Testudo graeca hercegovinensis, Testudo graeca var. boettgeri, Testudo graeca var. hercegovinensis, Testudo hercegovinensis, Testudo hermanni robertmertensi
Other names and names in other languages (45)
- Eastern Hermann’s tortoise [boettgeri]English
- Greek tortoiseEnglish
- Hermann’s tortoiseEnglish
- Hermann’s tortoiseEnglish
- Western Hermann’s tortoise [hermanni]English
- سلحفاة هيرمانArabic
- tartuga mediterráneaAsturian
- Шипоопашата костенуркаBulgarian
- Tortuga MediterràniaCatalan
- želva zelenaváCzech
- Græsk landskildpaddeDanish
- Griechische LandschildkröteGerman
- Μεσογειακή ΧελώναGreek
- Tortuga MediterraneaSpanish
- Tortuga MediterráneaSpanish
- Tortuga mediterránea o T. de HermannSpanish
- kreikankilpikonnaFinnish
- Tortue d'HermannFrench
- Obična čančaraCroatian
- kopnena kornjačaCroatian
- Görög teknősHungarian
- testuggine di HermannItalian
- ヘルマンリクガメJapanese
- 헤르만거북Korean
- 헤르만땅거북Korean
- 헤르만육지거북Korean
- Balkanų vėžlysLithuanian
- ЖелкаMacedonian
- Ридска желкаMacedonian
- Шумска желкаMacedonian
- gresk landskilpaddeNorwegian Bokmål
- hermanns landskilpaddeNorwegian Bokmål
- Griekse landschildpadDutch
- Żółw GreckiPolish
- Tartaruga-de-HermannPortuguese
- Tartaruga-do-mediterrâneoPortuguese
- Tartaruga-mediterrâneaPortuguese
- Țestoasa lui HermannRomanian
- Балканская черепахаRussian
- korytnačka zelenkastáSlovak
- Шумска корњачаSerbian
- Herman kaplumbağasıTurkish
- Trakya tosbağasıTurkish
- Черепаха балканськаUkrainian
- 赫曼陸龜Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the hermann's tortoise
Other species in the same genus Testudo.
Greek tortoise
Testudo graeca
Central Asian tortoise
Testudo horsfieldii
Negev tortoise
Testudo kleinmanni
Margined tortoise
Testudo marginata
CompareHermann's tortoise vs Greek tortoiseHermann's tortoise vs Central Asian tortoiseHermann's tortoise vs Negev tortoiseHermann's tortoise vs Margined tortoise
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is Hermann's tortoise?
Adult Hermann's tortoises weigh 1.264 kg, with reported values from 1.249 kg to 1.28 kg. This places it in the medium size class.
Is Hermann's tortoise endangered?
Hermann's tortoise is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does Hermann's tortoise live?
Hermann's tortoise has a lifespan of 40 years, and our sources report values up to 127 years.
What kind of animal is Hermann's tortoise?
It is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, in the family Testudinidae, suborder Cryptodira and order Testudines.
Who named Hermann's tortoise?
Hermann's tortoise, Testudo hermanni, was named by Gmelin in 1789.
How many eggs does Hermann's tortoise lay?
Hermann's tortoise has 4.5 per clutch and 1.7 clutches per year, and the eggs incubate for 68 days.
When does Hermann's tortoise reach sexual maturity?
Hermann's tortoise reaches sexual maturity at 12.5 years, with reported values from 12.0 to 12.7 years.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/hermanns-tortoise
“Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/hermanns-tortoise.
@misc{hermanns_tortoise_2026,
title = {Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/hermanns-tortoise},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}