Caratterizzazione della popolazione di testuggine di Hermann (Testudo hermanni) all'interno della Riserva Naturale Dune Fossili di Massenzatica

Testudo hermanni (ord. Testudines, fam. Testudinae), with T. graeca and T. marginata, is one of the three species of Testudinae endemic of the European peninsula. It’s widespread along Mediterrean European’s coasts, in different islands and in the Balkans from south-west Danube to Turkey. Two subspecies are recognized at genetic level: T.h. boettgeri, who’s widespread in the eastern regions, from Balkans to italic North-east and T.h. hermanni, widespread in the western regions, from mainland Italy to the major islands. Near the river’s delta, between Goro’s Po and Volano’s Po, there is the Fossil Dunes of Massenzatica Natural Reserve, an ideal area to study the two subspecies, considered its location. This work is part of a more extensive project designed to characterize and evaluate the wild population of T. hermanni in the Fossil Dunes of Massenzatica Natural Reserve with four major objectives: I) census; II) morphological identification; III) genotyping and IV) helath assesment. Samplings and observations have been carried out from 2019 to 2022, in the period of major activity (from the end of April to the end of August). In total 38 days of captures were carried out, with 125 animals sampled (20 animals with 28 recaptures). Animals were grouped by sex and age and analyzed. Here, we present results from the analysis of morphological data and we show how morphology can be used to characterize sexual dimorphism and to identify subspecies.