Egyptian Tortoise

Kleinmann's tortoise is the smallest tortoise in the Northern Hemisphere. Females are larger than males; males are more slender and have a longer tail. The carapace has a high dome, and ranges in color from ivory to pale gold to dark brown to pink or dull yellow. This allows the paler tortoise to stay in the desert heat for longer. It is also an effective camouflage in the desert. The plastron is light yellow, often with two dark triangles on each abdominal scute. The plastral scutes have dark edgings that fade with age. The head and limbs are a very pale ivory-yellow to yellowish-brown colour.

Kleinmann's tortoise lives in deserts and semiarid habitats, usually with compact sand and gravel plains, scattered rocks, shallow, sandy wadis, dry woodlands, shrubby areas, and coastal salt marsh habitats. In captivity, it eats grasses, fruits, and vegetables, but the diet of T. kleinmanni in the wild is unknown. Kleinmann's tortoise tend to live in habitats that receive less than 50 mm of rain every year. These habitats tend to be countries with expansive desert areas such as Egypt and Libya. It is least active when the weather is very cold or very hot. During the colder months, it is out most during midday. During the warm season, it is active in the mornings and evenings. The rest of the day is spent under bushes or in rodent burrows.

Kleinmann's tortoise becomes sexually mature when about 5 years old. In the wild, mating has only been observed in March, but in captivity, it mates in April and August to November. During courtship, the male will ram the female, sometimes chasing after her. Unlike any other Mediterranean tortoise, T. kleinmanni may make a mating call similar to the call of the mourning dove. Eggs are laid in shallow bowls beneath bushes, or in vacant burrows. Each clutch contains one to five eggs, which hatch in the summer or early autumn.

The specific name, kleinmanni, is in honor of Edouard Kleinmann, a French stockbroker who collected the holotype in 1875. The specific name, werneri (of the synonym Testudo werneri), is in honor of Israeli herpetologist Yehudah L. Werner.