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Hermann's Tortoise


Hermann's Tortoise
Photo Information
Copyright: Alex Strugariu (Alex_Strugariu) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 124 W: 0 N: 174] (649)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-08-25
Categories: Reptiles
Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2007-04-02 4:30
Viewed: 690
Points: 14
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Eurotestudo boetgerii or Testudo hermanni boetgerii

The Hermann's Tortoise

I took this shot last summer near Baile Herculane (Caras-Severin County, Romania). Unfortunatly, it has become a rare species in Romania, due to habitat loss and illegal collecting for the pet trade.

Here's a little something about this species (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman's_Tortoise ):

These have an arched, almost round carapace, but some are notably flatter and more oblong. The coloration ranges from brownish to yellow or olive brown with isolated black flecks. The coloring tends to wash out in older animals. The underside is almost always solid colored, and has separate black patches on either side of the central seam.

The head is brown to black, with fine scales. The forelegs similarly possess fine scales. The limbs generally have five claws, which are darkly colored at their base. The hindlegs are noticeably thicker than the forelegs, almost plump. The particularly strong tail ends in a spike, which may be very large in older male specimens. Females have noticeably smaller tailspikes, which are slightly bent toward the body.

-Range
Testudo hermanni can be found throughout southern Europe. The western subspecies (T. hermanni hermanni) is found in eastern Spain, southern France, the Baleares islands, Corsica, Sardinia, and central Italy (Tuscany). The eastern subspecies (T. hermanni boettgeri) is found in Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece.


-Life in the wild
Early in the morning, the animals leave their nightly shelters, which are usually hollows protected by thick bushes or hedges, to bask in the sun and warm their bodies. They then roam about the Mediterranean meadows of their habitat in search of food. They determine which plants to eat by the sense of smell. (In captivity, they are known to eat dandelions, clover, crowsfoot, lettuce, as well as the leaves, flowers, and pods of almost all legumes.) In addition to leaves and flowers, the animals eat fruits as supplementary nutrition. They only eat a small amount of fruit, just enough to satisfy themselves.

Around midday, the sun becomes too hot for the tortoises, so they return to their hiding places. They have a good sense of direction to enable them to return. Experiments have shown that they also possess a good sense of time, the position of the sun, the magnetic lines of the earth, and for landmarks. In the late afternoon, they leave their shelters again and return to feeding.

I'm sorry I had to copy+paste something of the internet about this species but I'm in kind of a hurry. I hope you enjoy it.

All the best,
Alex
cedryk, Bufo, cicindela, horia, methos, IulianGherghel has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Alex,
great to see this Hermann's tortoise. There are not so many pictures of this species. Your pov is great, giving good eye contact. The sharpness is great and colours are natural. Great picture, Alex!
Regards, Jacob
ps. You might consider using the burn tool for the light parts in the foreground. I'll try a litte workshop on that.

Hello Alex,
Excellent POV on this tortoise. Look very natural in this environment. Details are very good too. Excellent informative note too.
Best greetings,
Michal

Hi Alex!
Very nice and funny POV! I really like it :>
Tortoise among stones looks not only beauty but also very natural. Bravo for note too!
Thank you for showing this photo!
Radomir

  • Great 
  • radz Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 621 W: 11 N: 625] (3390)
  • [2007-04-02 6:52]

Very nice shot,excellent POV&Composition.DOF is good.

  • Great 
  • horia Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2123 W: 222 N: 3908] (12975)
  • [2007-04-02 10:54]

Salut Alex

Foarte simpatic puiutul asta :)
Imi place unghiul de vedere jos de unde ai facut poza asta si de asemenea perspective pe care ti-o da in spatele testoasei.
Se poate vedea de-asemena un habitat misto in jur ceea ce integraza bine animalul in poza.
Culori vii si bine saturate si detalii clare...ca de obicei ;)

bravo si TFS
horia

  • Great 
  • methos Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 215 W: 56 N: 287] (1161)
  • [2007-04-05 17:37]

Salut Alex,
Excelenta compozitie. Detalii si culori perfecte, DOF super dar compozitia face poza asta.
TFS!

buna,
foarte faina fotografia, culorile sunt super faine.
numai bine,
iulian

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