Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni).
Image: Hatem Moushir, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- CR · Critically Endangered
- Animal group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Matches source — IUCN's 2022 global assessment of Testudo kleinmanni says Critically EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment
Conservation overview
The Egyptian tortoise is one of the smallest tortoises in the world, a pale desert species. It is assessed as Critically Endangered.
It has been almost wiped out across much of its former range.
Range & habitat
Deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, around the eastern Mediterranean.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Collection for the pet trade
- Habitat loss to agriculture
- A tiny remaining range
Why it matters
A tiny desert tortoise nearly lost to the pet trade and habitat loss, the Egyptian tortoise is a flagship for North African and Middle Eastern dryland conservation.
Gallery
Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni); this individual is in a zoo.
Image: JaffaFalcon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Sources for Egyptian Tortoise
- IUCN Red List — look up Egyptian Tortoise (authoritative status)
- reptile-database.reptarium.cz