Abstract:

Twenty-four (16 male, 8 female) specimens of the Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise Testudo graeca were examined from Mardin, southeastern Turkey. For morphological comparisons, 15 morphometric characters and 31 ratios developed by combinations of straight carapace length (SCL) and straight carapace width (SCW) were investigated. Males and females were differentiated from one another in terms of straight carapace length/curved carapace length (SCL/CCL), straight carapace length/plastron length (SCL/PL), straight carapace length/abdominal suture length (SCL/AbSL), straight carapace length/anal suture length (SCL/ASL), plastron length/plastron width 1 (PL/PW1), carapace width/straight carapace length (SCW/SCL), carapace width/anal suture length (SCW/ASL), and carapace width/plastron width 1 (SCW/PW1) according to the results of independent t-tests. Females were generally larger than males. The maximum SCL (208.6 mm) was measured in a female. The color of the carapace and plastron was inconsistent and thigh tubercles typically extended in an inwardly curved direction with sharply pointed apices. This character was the most remarkable in distinguishing the Mardin specimens from the pure ibera race, which possesses conical thigh tubercles.

Keywords: