Tortoise Species

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Below you will find a few of the many different types of Tortoise Species. In order to make filtering easy we have categorized them from smallest to largest along with some highlights of each like colors and alternate names.

To learn more about each type of tortoise, just click on the image or title and you will be taken to a more in depth overview of the tortoise and how to care for the tortoise.

Tortoise Species by Size

Small (2 to 12 inches)

Speckled Tortoise

Speckled Cape Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Chersoibius
  • Size: 2.4 to 3.9 in (6-10 cm)
  • Color: Goldish Beige with black spots and outlines on shell
  • Binomial Name: Chersobius signatus / Homopus signatus
  • Other Names: Speckled Padloper, Speckled Cape
  • Lifespan: 100+ years

Egyptian Tortoise

Egyptian Tortoise
Egyptian Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Testudo
  • Size: 5 in (13 cm)
  • Color: Brown and Goldish yellow
  • Binomial Name: Testudo kleinmanni
  • Other Names: Kleinmann’s Tortoise, Leith’s tortoise
  • Lifespan: 70 – 100 years

Russian Tortoise

Russian Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Agrionemys
  • Size: 5-10 in (13-25 cm)
  • Color: Black with Yellow
  • Binomial Name: Agrionemys Horsfieldii
  • Other Names: Horsefield Tortoise
  • Lifespan: 40 years

Greek Tortoise

Greek Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Testudo
  • Size: 5 – 11 in (13 – 28 cm)
  • Color: Brown and Goldish yellow
  • Binomial Name: Testudo Graeca
  • Other Names: Spur Thigh Tortoise
  • Lifespan: 125 years

Hermann’s Tortoise

Hermann’s Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Testudo
  • Size: 7.5 in (18 cm)
  • Color: Black and gold yellow
  • Binomial Name: Testudo hermanni
  • Other Names: –
  • Lifespan: 75 years

Pancake Tortoise

Stack of Pancake Tortoises
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Malacochersus
  • Size: 7 in (18 cm)
  • Color: Brown and Gold yellow
  • Binomial Name: Malacochersus tornieri
  • Other Names: Tornier’s Tortoise
  • Lifespan: 25 years

Gopher Tortoise

Gopher Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Gopherus
  • Size: 7.9 – 11 in (20 – 30 cm)
  • Color: Dark Brown to Gray-black
  • Binomial Name: Gopherus polyphemus
  • Other Names:
  • Lifespan: 100+ years

Hingeback Tortoise

Speke’s Hingeback Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Kinixys
  • Size: 9 in (22 cm)
  • Color: brown black and yellow
  • Binomial Name: Kinixys belliana
  • Other Names: –
  • Lifespan: 20 years

Indian Star Tortoise

Indian Star Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Geochelone
  • Size: 10 in ( cm)
  • Color: Goldish Yellow and Black
  • Binomial Name: Geochelone elegans
  • Other Names: –
  • Lifespan: 30 to 80 years

Elongated Tortoise

Elongated Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Indotestudo
  • Size: 12 in (30 cm)
  • Color: Black and Goldish yellow
  • Binomial Name: Indotestudo Elongata
  • Other Names: Yellow Headed Tortoise
  • Lifespan: 50 years

Medium (13 – 24)

Desert Tortoise

Desert Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Gopherus
  • Size: 10 – 14 in (25 – 36 cm)
  • Color: Greenish-tan to dark brown
  • Binomial Name: Gopherus agassizii
  • Other Names: Desert Turtles
  • Lifespan: 50 – 80 years

Red Footed Tortoise

Red-foot Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Chelonoidis
  • Size: 12 – 16 in (30 – 40 cm)
  • Color: pale yellow to brick red
  • Binomial Name: Chelonoidis carbonaria
  • Other Names: Red-Leg, Red-Legged, or Red-Foot Tortoise, and Savanna Tortoise
  • Lifespan: 50 years

Marginated Tortoise

Marginated Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Testudo
  • Size: 14 in (35 cm)
  • Color: Brown and Goldish yellow
  • Binomial Name: Testudo Marginata
  • Other Names:
  • Lifespan: 100+ years

Burmese Star Tortoise

Burmese Star Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Geochelone
  • Size: 14 in (35 cm)
  • Color: Goldish Yellow and gray
  • Binomial Name: Geochelone playtona
  • Other Names: –
  • Lifespan: unknown – long

Impressed Tortoise

Impressed Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Manouria
  • Size: 14 in (35 cm)
  • Color: Yellow, brown, redish
  • Binomial Name: Manouria impressa
  • Other Names: –
  • Lifespan: unknown

Angonoka Tortoise

Angonoka Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Astrochelys
  • Size: 15 – 17 in (38 – 43cm)
  • Color: Light brown and yellow
  • Binomial Name: Astrochelys yniphora
  • Other Names: Ploughshare tortoise, plowshare tortoise, Madagascar tortoise
  • Lifespan: 188 years

Yellow Foot Tortoise

Yellow Foot Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Chelonoidis
  • Size: 16 in (40 cm)
  • Color: Black and Goldish yellow
  • Binomial Name: Chelonoidis Denticulatus
  • Other Names:
  • Lifespan: 50 to 60 years

Radiated Tortoise

Radiated Tortoise
Radiated Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Astrochelys
  • Size: 16 in (40 cm)
  • Color: Yellow, orange, and black
  • Binomial Name: Astrochelys radiata
  • Other Names:
  • Lifespan: 100+ years

Large (25 and above)

Leopard Tortoise

Leopard Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Chordata
  • Size: 27 in (69 cm) long / 18 in (46 cm) tall
  • Color: Black with Gold similar to a leopard
  • Binomial Name: Stigmochelys pardalis
  • Other Names: –
  • Lifespan: 100 years

Sulcata Tortoise

Sulcata Tortoises
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Centrochelys
  • Size: 33 in (83 cm)
  • Color: Black and Yellow
  • Binomial Name: Centrochelys sulcata
  • Other Names: African Spurred Tortoise
  • Lifespan: 70 years

Aldabra Tortoise

Aldabra Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Aldabrachelys
  • Size: Average 48 inches (122 cm) in length
  • Color: Brown or Tan
  • Binomial Name: Aldabrachelys Gigantea
  • Other Names: Seychelles Giant Tortoise
  • Lifespan: 200+ years

Galapagos Tortoise

Galapagos Tortoise
  • Family: Testudinidae
  • Genus: Chelonoidis
  • Size: 24 – 59 in (61 – 150cm) varies on islands
  • Color: blackish gray
  • Binomial Name: Chelonoidis Nigra
  • Other Names: –
  • Lifespan: 100+ years