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Egyptian Tortoise

Testudo kleinmanni Lortet 1883

Lifespan, longevity, and ageing

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Maximum longevity: 21 years (captivity)
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Biology

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The Egyptian tortoise is one of the most poorly understood Mediterranean tortoises (7). Courtship and mating in the wild have only been observed in March, although reproduction in captivity takes place in April and August to November (2). One of the most remarkable features of this species' breeding behaviour is the loud, distinctive vocalisation emitted by the male during mating, which has been described as similar to the sound of a mourning dove's call, and is quite unlike that of any other Mediterranean tortoise (2) (7). The male appears to ram the female during courtship, which is sometimes followed by a frantic chasing episode (2). Nests are dug in the sandy earth, into which a clutch of one to five eggs are laid (2) (7). Diet in the wild is unknown, but captive individuals will eat grasses, fruits and vegetables (2).
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Conservation

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The Egyptian tortoise is protected by law in Egypt but not in Libya. Additionally, the tortoise is listed under Appendix I of CITES, prohibiting international trade in the species. However, these protective laws are evidently often flouted. Protected areas exist in Egypt, including the one in which the two individuals were found in 2001, but there is little benefit of this protection, or indeed motivation to establish new protected areas for the species, since it is effectively extinct in Egypt. This tortoise may also occur in Kouf National Park in northeast Libya, where one specimen was found 20 years ago, but no other reserves exist in the species' known range. The establishment of more protected areas in Libya would be of enormous benefit to the Egyptian tortoise and greatly enhance its chances of survival. Although tracts of suitable habitat still remain in Libya, there is an all too realistic possibility that the Egyptian tortoise could face extinction in less than 20 years if habitat degradation and trade cannot be stopped (1).
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Description

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The Egyptian tortoise is a small, desert-living tortoise of the Middle East, recognised for its high-domed, golden-coloured shell and diminutive size (4) (5) (6). The colour of the carapace can in fact range from ivory and pale, dull yellow through an almost golden, bright straw-colour to dark brown (6) (7). The pale, reflective colours that are usual allow the tortoise to forage for longer during the intense heat of the day, whilst also providing good camouflage in the species' sandy, rocky habitat (5). Dark edging normally exists to the front and sides of each scute, but fades with age (6) (7), and the head and limbs are a very pale yellow-ivory to yellowish-brown colour (2) (7). The plastron is pale yellow with a characteristic dark triangular notch on the two abdominal scutes, although these are occasionally absent. Males are smaller and more elongated than females, and have longer tails (2).
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Habitat

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The Egyptian tortoise inhabits deserts and semi-desert habitats, usually with compact sand and gravel plains, scattered rocks and shallow, sandy wadis, but also in coastal salt-marsh habitats, dry woodlands and brushy areas of scrub thorn (1) (2).
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Range

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Formerly thought to occur across Libya, Egypt and Israel, the populations east of the Nile delta in Egypt and in Israel have recently been found to be a separate species, Testudo werneri. Furthermore, the species is effectively extinct in the remaining areas of Egypt. Two wild individuals were found in 2001 in a protected coastal area in the Western desert, the first record of the species in Egypt in over 20 years, but such small numbers do not constitute a viable population. The tortoise is still found in two distinct regions of Libya - Tripolitania and Cyrenaica (1).
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Status

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Classified as Critically Endangered (CR A2abcd+3d) on the IUCN Red List 2004 (1) and listed on Appendix I of CITES (3).
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Threats

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The main threats endangering the Egyptian tortoise are intensive commercial collection and habitat destruction, leading to the disappearance of the species from much of its former range (8). Agricultural expansion, cultivation, overgrazing and urban encroachment have put enormous pressure on the Egyptian tortoise's fragile and dwindling habitat, dramatically reducing available vegetation for food and cover (1) (8). Additionally, the species has suffered heavily in Egypt from collection for the national and international pet trade, which moved its attention to Libyan stock after Egyptian subpopulations were harvested to extinction. Trade in this species also exists in Libya itself, which is a major concern for the future of the remaining world population (1).
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Behaviour

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Field observations (tracks and browsing) indicate that animals fed primarily upon the perennial Convolvulus lanatus, and the annuals Eremobium aegyptiacum and Silene villosa. Activity largely confined to the cooler part of the year (October-May), with almost complete cessation of activity during the summer, when animals aestivate. The average home range size for males was found to be almost twice that of females (34.9 ha and 15.7 ha, respectively). One female animal has lived in the author's care since 1970, when it was bought as an adult from a local market; she is thus at least 35-40 years old. A captive female reached maturity when 6 years old; males probably reach maturity at a younger age.

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Conservation Status

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Critically Endangered

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Description

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A small land tortoise; largest female has a carapace length of 144.2 mm and largest male 130 mm. Carapace strongly domed, smooth; there are 5 vertebral scutes, 4 coastals and 11 marginals; nuchal elongate, protruding anteriorly; supracaudal is divided or undivided. Posterior marginals form a smooth outline, slightly flared above the hind limbs. Plastron with a flexible hinge between the femorals and abdominals. Head moderate; eyes rather small; beak weakly hooked with a smooth edge. Forelimbs covered anteriorly with 3 longitudinal rows of large, imbricate, pointed, horny scales; hind limbs elephantine. Five claws on forefeet, 4 on hindfeet. Generally dorsum sandy beige, with each scute edged dark (brownish black) anteriorly, scute center plain; limbs and head same basic color, but in some individuals might be pinkish or yellowish. Plastron paler, yellowish with 2 diagnostic, black triangular marks on the abdominal scutes, and usually 2 smaller marks on pectoral scutes. Male smaller than female, with a less domed, more elongate carapace; a long pointed tail, and usually dark markings on the head. Female with short stubby tail.

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Distribution in Egypt

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Former range encompassed parts of the western Mediterranean coastal plain, northern parts of North Sinai and probably parts of the northern Eastern Desert. Buskirk (1985) presented a comprehensive summary of all 19 published locality records of T. kleinmanni from Egypt prior to 1985. The only known recent records from Egypt are as follows: tracks of several animals on Rumeiat Island, Lake Bardawil, in 1985 and again in 2004 (Baha El Din 1994b, Zaranik Protected Area staff); a dead animal found by a local inhabitant at the north end of Wadi El Natrun and presented to A. Riad in 1991; remains of a single animal found in a Brown-necked Raven's Corvus ruficollis nest in a tributary of Wadi Degla, southeast of Cairo (Baha El Din 1992); one animal found with a local person who claimed to have encountered it outside his home at El Teloul, North Sinai (Baha El Din 1994b); one animal found near Bir El Abd in 1993 (Saleh 1997). Most recently in spring 2000 a small population was located in Zaranik Protected Area (Baha El Din and Attum 2000). Five locally collected animals were confiscated from a herder at El Omayed Protected Area (Baha El Din and Attum 2003).

Records from Giza and Damietta listed by Buskirk (1985) are certainly erroneous. The unusually southerly records of Marx (1968) and Baha El Din (1992), from Bir Gindali and Wadi Degla, both involved remains of dead animals, and thus could possibly represent released or escaped animals from nearby Cairo.

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Global Distribution

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Coastal deserts of the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean, extending in a narrow strip from the western Negev, Israel, in the east to the Gulf of Sirt, Libya, in the west. Records from further west in Tripolitania possibly involve introduced animals, as a result of extensive trade of these animals in Libya, as noted by the second authors and indicated by M. El Saghir.

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Habitat

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Inhabits fairly arid semi-deserts fringing the Mediterranean coast, possibly reaching as far as 120 km inland at some localities, but largely within 50 km from the coast. It is mostly found in areas between the 50-150 mm isohyets. Populations west of the Nile inhabit a wide range of habitats, from vegetated coastal dunes, to sandy and stony steppe and even hilly country; those east of the Nile are largely associated with vegetated sand dunes, but were also reported from large, well-vegetated wadis. A scientific describes its characteristic habitat in Cyrenaica (Libya) as treeless Artemisia steppe. A recently discovered population in Zaranik Protected Area, North Sinai, was found in sandy interdune plains (in one case on the outskirt of a salt marsh), dominated by Artemisia monosperma and Retama raetam. The vegetation cover ranged between 16% and 51% at 3 localities where the animals were found (comprised of 81%-98% woody plants and 2%-19% annuals).

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Status in Egypt

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T. kleinmanni has been subjected to severe pressures throughout its range, which have led to its extirpation from large areas of its former range. In Egypt the species' habitat has been ravaged by severe over-grazing, massive reclama­tion schemes involving large areas of semi-desert, and intensive coastal development for tourism and urban expansion. In addition vast numbers have been collected for the pet trade in the past. Fairly large numbers still continue to be smuggled from Libya into Egypt. In Israel the small population in the western Negev is at risk from habitat loss and the effects of military exercises.

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Distribution

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Continent: Africa Near-East
Distribution: Libya (Tripolitania & Cyrenaica) and the Western desert in Egypt, up to Alexandria in the east
Type locality: "dans le sables de la basse Egypt, a surtout dans le environs d'Alexandrie," Egypt.
Type locality: Alexandria (Egypt) [lectotype; designated by PERÄLÄ 2001]. werneri: Israel, Egypt (from N Negev southwest along Mediterranean coastal regions on the Sinai peninsula to the Nile delta in Egypt).
Type locality: northern Negev desert, Israel. Holotype found in œsand dunes 14 km south of Beer Sheva (northern Negev desert, Israel).
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Comprehensive Description

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Testudo kleinmanni Lortet, 1883

[= Testudo kleinmanni Lortet, 1883]

Lortet, 1883, Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Lyon 3:188.

Paralectotype: USNM 10979 (formerly MNHN 21) (alcoholic adult female, CL 108 mm); Egypt; exact locality, collector, and date unknown; cataloged 29 Jul 1881.

Type Locality: “Dans les sables de la basse Égypte, surtout dans les environs d’Alexandrie” [vicinity of Alexandria, Egypt].

Other Type Material: Lectotype: MG 42000414 (see “Remarks”). Paralectotypes: BMNH 1947.3.4.35 (see “Remarks”), MCZ 5081 (see “Remarks”), MG 42000413, 42006110, 42006125, 42006132, 42006138; MNHN DC 183, 1878-602, 1878-603 (lost), 1987-971, 1876-416, 1992-197, 9462.

Etymology: The name kleinmanni is a patronym honoring Mons. Kleinmann, who apparently collected the specimens described by Lortet.

Remarks: Lortet (1883:188–189) did not list the syntypes in the original description, so the total number and their identities remain uncertain. The present lectotype, MG 42000414, was designated by Perälä (2001:579). Earlier, Mertens (1967:52) designated SMF 7810 as a lectotype without description or discussion; however, this specimen is not from the original syntopic series (Perälä 2001:579) and thus is ineligible for designation as the lectotype. Perälä (2001:582) mentioned MNHN 7838 (1879-774), but this specimen was collected by “Letourneux” and is also not of the syntopic series (in Litt., Roger Bour to C. H. Ernst, 3 Jun 2005). Paralectotypes BMNH 1947.3.4.35 and MCZ 5081 are also syntypes of Testudo leithii Günther, 1869:502. Boulenger (1889:176) referred to an alcoholic female specimen (BMNH 1888.4.24.2) from Alexandria, Egypt, sent from the MG by Lortet as “typical of T. kleinmanni”; however, no mention of type status appears in the BMNH register (in Litt., Colin McCarthy to C. H. Ernst, 6 Feb 2004). It is possible that BMNH 1888.4.24.2 is a paralectotype of T. kleinmanni, but there is no proof.

Testudo mauritanica Duméril and Bibron, 1835

[= Testudo graeca Linnaeus, 1758; fide, Auffenberg, 1974: 200]

Duméril and Bibron, 1835, Erpétologie Génerale …, p. 44.

Syntype: USNM 10980 (formerly MNHN 22) (alcoholic adult male, CL 110 mm), Algeria; exact locality, collector, and date unknown; cataloged 29 Jul 1881.

Type Locality: None provided, but stated to be common in area of “Alger”; restricted to “Algier” by Mertens and Wermuth, 1955:378.

Etymology: The name mauritanica refers to ancient Mauritania, North Africa.

Remarks: USNM 10980 is a possible syntype of Testudo mauritanica; type specimens were not identified in the original description (Duméril and Bibron, 1835:44), but the specimen was present in the Paris Museum at the time of the description, and the locality is in agreement.
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Reynolds, Robert P., Gotte, Steve W., and Ernst, Carl H. 2007. "Catalogue of Type Specimens of Recent Crocodilia and Testudines in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 1-49. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.626

Kleinmann's tortoise

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Kleinmann's tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni), also called commonly the Egyptian tortoise, Leith's tortoise, and the Negev tortoise, is a critically endangered species of cryptodire turtle in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to Egypt, Libya, and Israel/ Palestine. The species was once more widespread, but its numbers are now dwindling. The species is nearly extinct in Egypt, and complete extinction in the wild is a looming threat unless more actions are taken to protect this species.

Etymology

The specific name, kleinmanni, is in honor of Edouard Kleinmann, a French stockbroker who collected the holotype in 1875.[4]

The specific name, werneri (of the synonym Testudo werneri), is in honor of Israeli herpetologist Yehudah L. Werner.[4]

Description

Belly of the Egyptian tortoise

Kleinmann's tortoise is the smallest tortoise in the Northern Hemisphere.[5] Female tortoises are larger than the 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 colouring strongly follows Gloger's rule, as it helps to regulate the impact of sunlight. 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 tortoise's scutes have dark edgings that fade with age.

The head and limbs are a very pale ivory-yellow to yellowish-brown colour.

Systematics

The proposed subgenus Pseudotestudo is invalid, based on immature characters.[6] It has been proposed to unite this species with the marginated tortoise in the genus Chersus. These clearly share a common ancestor with the common tortoise (Greek tortoise). The former two are somewhat more similar to each other than to the Greek tortoise regarding DNA sequence data.[7] Considering biogeography, however, this is either due to (rather unlikely) dispersal across the Mediterranean, or the supposed "clade" is invalid and the similarity due to convergent evolution.

Negev tortoise

The Negev subpopulation had been separated as a distinct species, "Negev tortoise" (Testudo werneri), as it did not appear to have distinct or strongly reduced haplotype diversity, consistent with the recent extinction of the Egyptian population and slow DNA sequence evolution rates in Testudo.[8] Baha el Din (2006) synonymized T. werneri due to lacking mtDNA differences between T. kleinmanni from western Libya compared to tortoises from the Negev Desert.[3] In the 2017 checklist of turtles of the world, it remained a synonym.[9]

Habitat and Ecology

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.

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.

Reproduction

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.

Status and conservation

Once found in Egypt, Libya and Israel/ Palestine, the habitat of T. kleinmanni in Egypt has been all but destroyed, and the Egyptian tortoise is close to complete extinction there; in 2006, only 10 wild individuals were known from the vicinity of Lake Bardawil.[10][11] Two populations can still be found in Libya, but much of the coastline habitat has been destroyed because of human activity. Habitat loss and the illegal pet trade are huge issues facing the species; it is also hunted locally for use in folk medicine.[12] The population is still on the decline, and the risk of extinction in the wild is very real if habitat degradation and illegal trade continue at their present rate. In Israel, T. kleinmanni (previously known as T. werneri) populations are known from northwestern Negev and the Yemin Plain, with lone individuals occasionally found near Yeruham.[11] It is protected by law and several conservation programs, such as the establishment of new protected areas, but is still highly threatened by the conversion of habitat to agricultural fields, extensive animal herding, and the approval of new developments on the sand dunes of the western Negev. In 2010, the population in Israel/ Palestine was estimated at less than 2,000 individuals.[13][10]

On the IUCN Red List, Kleinmann's tortoise is classified as critically endangered (CR A2abcd+3d). Less than three Testudo generations ago, an estimated 55-56,000 adult Kleinmann's tortoises existed. Today, about 7,500 remain, and decline due to habitat destruction and unsustainable exploitation appears to be ongoing. While the former threat is believed to be alleviated, illegal pet trade is feared to have reduced the population to maybe 1,000 adult tortoises in the two or three remaining subpopulations. Given that T. kleinmanni is a slow-maturing, long-lived species with few offspring (see K-strategist), this is well possibly less than the minimum viable population size, eventually dooming the species to extinction in the wild.[6] There are plans for augmenting the Israeli sub-population by releasing individuals from local controlled breeding centers in Israel, but these projects have yet to be approved by authorities.

Mixing individuals from the subpopulations for reintroduction purposes should be avoided, as the ecological parameters of habitat differ.[14] DNA fingerprinting of individuals to help maintain heterozygosity in captive and reintroduction populations can be performed during routine stool analyses. In this context, notably, there may be a haplotype uniquely found in the Egyptian tortoise.[15]

Captive breeding requires more care than in other Testudo species, as the species is more delicate and the clutch is very small, but is not highly difficult for experienced Testudo breeders. T. kleinmanni is not generally available for hobbyists and even if legal to keep, should be avoided without valid documentation. Smuggling continues to be a problem, but confiscated individuals are used to establish a captive safeguard population.

On May 21, 2007, Rome's main zoo, Bioparco, reported it has successfully bred the species from parents rescued from a smuggler's suitcase in 2005.[16] It is also kept and bred at several other zoos in Europe and North America.

References

  1. ^ Perälä, J. (2003). "Testudo kleinmanni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2003: e.T21652A9306908. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2003.RLTS.T21652A9306908.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 302. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  4. ^ a b Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Testudo kleinmanni, p. 143; T. werneri, p. 282).
  5. ^ "Egyptian tortoises". Bristol Zoo. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  6. ^ a b Perälä (2003)
  7. ^ van der Kuyl et al. (2002), Fritz et al. (2005)
  8. ^ van der Kuyl (2002)
  9. ^ Rhodin, Anders G.J.; Inverson, John B.; Roger, Bour; Fritz, Uwe; Georges, Arthur; Shaffer, H. Bradley; van Dijk, Peter Paul (August 3, 2017). "Turtles of the world, 2017 update: Annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status(8th Ed.)" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 7. ISBN 978-1-5323-5026-9. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Perälä, Jarmo (May 2006). "Assessment of the Threatened Status of Testudo werneri Perälä, 2001 (Testudines: Testudinidae) for the IUCN Red List". Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 5 (1): 57–66. doi:10.2744/1071-8443(2006)5[57:AOTTSO]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1071-8443.
  11. ^ a b "החברה להגנת הטבע - Negev Tortoise". www.teva.org.il. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  12. ^ da Nóbrega Alves et al. (2008)
  13. ^ "Negev tortoise gets UN attention amid extinction threat". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  14. ^ See Perälä (2001) and above for identification
  15. ^ Široký & Fritz (2007)
  16. ^ "Day in photos 23/05". The New Zealand Herald. 23 May 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
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Kleinmann's tortoise: Brief Summary

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Kleinmann's tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni), also called commonly the Egyptian tortoise, Leith's tortoise, and the Negev tortoise, is a critically endangered species of cryptodire turtle in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to Egypt, Libya, and Israel/ Palestine. The species was once more widespread, but its numbers are now dwindling. The species is nearly extinct in Egypt, and complete extinction in the wild is a looming threat unless more actions are taken to protect this species.

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