| Russian tortoise | |
|---|---|
| |
| A Russian tortoise in Kazakhstan | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
| Family: | Testudinidae |
| Genus: | Testudo |
| Species: | T. horsfieldii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Testudo horsfieldii Gray, 1844
| |
| Subspecies | |
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
The Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii), also commonly known as the Afghan tortoise, the Central Asian tortoise, the four-clawed tortoise, the four-toed tortoise, Horsfield's tortoise, the Russian steppe tortoise, the Soviet Tortoise, and the steppe tortoise,[3][4] is a threatened species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to Central Asia from the Caspian Sea south through Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and east across Kazakhstan to Xinjiang, China.[5][6] Human activities in its native habitat contribute to its threatened status.[5]
Two Russian tortoises were the first Earth inhabitants to travel to and circle the Moon, on Zond 5 in September 1968.
- ^ Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) (1996). "Testudo horsfieldii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T21651A9306759. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T21651A9306759.en. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 301–302. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. ISSN 1864-5755. S2CID 87809001.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
EDRwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rhodin, Anders G.J.; Iverson, John B.; Roger, Bour; Fritz, Uwe; Georges, Arthur; Shaffer, H. Bradley; van Dijk, Peter Paul (3 August 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 4 October 2019.
- ^ a b Species Testudo horsfieldii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Lee, David S.; Smith, Katrina (2010). "Testudostan: Our Post-Cold War Global Exploitation of a Noble Tortoise" (PDF). Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc.: 45(1):1–9. Retrieved 16 April 2023.