World Tortoise Day 2025 —

9 Fascinating Tortoise Species Found Around The World

Indian Star Tortoise:

This threatened South Asian species has a star-shaped shell and employs its bright colours as camouflage in grasslands.

Speckled Tortoise:

This is South Africa's Little Namaqualand native and is the smallest tortoise in the world, which sports speckled gold-beige shell with five front toes.

Russian Tortoise:

Living in the steppes of Central Asia, this resilient herbivore possesses a brown shell with black scute centres and was one of the earliest animals to encircle the moon.

Greek Tortoise:

Widespread throughout the Mediterranean, these tortoises have domed, shell-patterned shells and excavate burrows to avoid the heat.

Hermann's Tortoise:

Originally from the Mediterranean and Balkans, these tan-shelled tortoises are near threatened and highly sought as pets due to their temperament.

Pancake Tortoise:

Endemic to Kenya and Tanzania, the flat, flexible shell of this critically endangered species is well adapted to climbing rocky ground.

Gopher Tortoise:

The southeastern U.S. is home to these burrowing tortoises that use their front limb scales as protection and host more than 300 other species.

Desert Tortoise:

Found in the U.S. and Mexican deserts, this slow-growing tortoise bears a domed brown shell and remains in subterranean burrows for most of its life.