![]() ![]() Courtship is a rough affair for the female, who is pursued, rammed and bitten by the male, before being mounted (2). Immediately after surfacing from its winter resting place, Hermann's tortoise commences courtship and mating (4). In late February, Hermann's tortoise emerges from under a bush or old rotting wood, where it has spent the winter months hibernating, buried in a bed of dead leaves (4). Parental Investment: no parental involvement female parental care pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female) pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female) Hatchlings usually stay near the nest for the first few years of their lives to allow their carapace to completely develop. After laying their eggs, females leave them on their own. The only protection females give comes from placing her eggs in a nest that is underground. There is no parental investment in this species once eggs have been laid. Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous seasonal breeding gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate) sexual fertilization oviparous Under ideal temperature circumstances, up to 75% of eggs laid will be viable.īreeding interval: Hermann's tortoises breed once yearlyīreeding season: Breeding occurs at the end of hibernation (late February), with nesting beginning in May and ending in July. Incubation lasts an average of 90 days, with the eggs hatching in mid-August to September. Females may lay more than one clutch of eggs in one breeding season. Females build nests by digging into the ground, and then deposit their eggs several centimeters deep in the soil. Hermann's tortoises begin mating immediately following hibernation, which ends in late February. Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous) Females and males both have multiple mates. Males also compete to mate with females by biting the female's legs, but are not as aggressive as other species of tortoises. ![]() It appears that olfactory cues are also used in mate selection, although their exact mechanism is still unknown. Females use visual cues and high-ptched calls that are made by males to choose quality mates. Hermann's tortoises breed seasonally in February after their winter hibernation. Sexual Dimorphism: female larger sexes shaped differently Other Physical Features: ectothermic heterothermic bilateral symmetry It takes at least 4 years (ir sometimes up to 10) before carapace differences are obvious, as the carapace length must be 10 cm or more to be useful in sex determination. Sex can be identified in juveniles by the combination of a number of subtle differences in the shapes of the tail, carapace, plastron and anal scutes. Females with 4 claws on their front limbs are 4 times as likely to have offspring with the same number of claws. These tortoises can have 4 or 5 front claws/digits, which is apparently strongly influenced by the genetic characteristics of the mother. ![]() Both subspecies have distinct dark bands under the shell. The coloration of the shell varies - the western subspecies is very colorful, while the eastern subspecies is relatively dull. Another unique feature of Hermann's tortoises is a horny scale located on the tail. Hermann's tortoises are unique due to their divided supracaudal scute, which is a scale-like plate located on the tail end of their shell. Females tend to be larger than males and reach sexual maturity at a younger age. Hermann's tortoises range in size from 120 to 230 mm total length and weigh 2 to 2.5 kg. ![]()
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