Greek tortoise: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Greek tortoise lives – recorded in 16 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Testudo graeca
Group	Turtles & tortoises
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	16 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe
Class	Reptile
Order	Testudines
Family	Testudinidae

Where does the Greek tortoise live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Greek tortoise in 16 countries and territories across Africa, Asia and Europe. Wikidata gives its range as: Turkey. In France, Italy it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Greek tortoise endangered?

The Greek tortoise’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Greek tortoise?

The Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca) is a reptile in the order Testudines and the family Testudinidae, genus Testudo. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Greek tortoise

The Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca), also known commonly as the Moorish tortoise and the spur-thighed tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is a medium-sized herbivorous testudinid, widely distributed in the Mediterranean region.

T. graeca is recognized for its longevity, with verified lifespans exceeding 100 years and anecdotal reports suggesting ages over 125 years. Among reptiles, it has one of the largest known genomes.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Greek tortoise (revision 1380065208), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q504549 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).