Russian tortoise

The Central Asian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii), also commonly known as the Afghan tortoise, the steppe tortoise, the Russian tortoise (mainly in the pet trade), Horsfield's tortoise, the four-clawed tortoise, the four-toed tortoise, the Russian steppe tortoise, the Soviet tortoise, 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. Human activities in its native habitat contribute to its threatened status. Two Testudo horsfieldii tortoises were the first Earth inhabitants to travel to and circle the Moon, on Zond 5 in September 1968.

Russian tortoises thrive in dry, open areas. They keep to sandy locations, where they can get around easily and burrow. Despite preferring arid environments primarily, Russian tortoises can survive well where humidity is 70 percent, and actually need some rain to soften the soil so they can dig their burrows. These burrows can be as deep as 2 meters (6 ft 7 in), where it retreats during the midday heat and at night, only emerging to forage at dawn or dusk when temperatures drop. These tortoises are quite social, and they will visit nearby burrows, and sometimes several will spend the night in one burrow.

The Russian tortoise is a small tortoise species, with a size range of 13–25 cm (5–10 in). Females grow slightly larger (15–25 cm [6–10 in]) to accommodate eggs. Males average 13–20 cm (5–8 in). Russian tortoises are sexually dimorphic. Males are usually smaller than the females, and the males tend to have longer tails generally tucked to the side, and longer claws; females have a short, fat tail, with shorter claws than the males. The male has a slit-shaped vent (cloaca) near the tip of its tail; the female has an asterisk-shaped vent (cloaca). Russian tortoises have four toes on their front limbs, unusual compared to other tortoises for having five. Coloration varies, but the shell is usually a ruddy brown or black, fading to yellow between the scutes, and the body is straw-yellow and brown depending on the subspecies. The male Russian tortoise courts a female through head bobbing, circling, and biting her forelegs. When she submits, he mounts her from behind, making high-pitched squeaking noises during mating. On average, Russian tortoises will hibernate for about 8 weeks to 5 months throughout the year, if the conditions are right. The species can spend as much as 9 months of the year in dormancy.

Both the specific name, horsfieldii, and the common name "Horsfield's tortoise" are in honor of the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield. He worked in Java (1796) and for the East India Company and later became a friend of Sir Thomas Raffies. It is also widely known in the pet trade as the “Russian tortoise,” reflecting the historical pattern of the mid-1970s, when the animals were heavily exported from their native Central Asian range for the international pet trade. Because these exports came from the Soviet Union, which was often colloquially called “Russia” in the West, the name became established in pet contexts.