The spur-thighed or "Greek" tortoises are usually collectively referred to as Testudo graeca, but this covers a wide variety of subspecies that have very different ecological and morphological characteristics and appear to comprise at least three phylogenetic lineages.

They are a bit more delicate than their larger relatives, though their care is not particularly difficult, they are not ideal pets for those who have no experience at all in keeping tortoises.

This does actually make their care easier for people in warmer regions, but in temperate climates, they require a well-heated and amply lit terrarium even in winter.

As the former two lineages will eventually come to represent good species, the Tunisian tortoise might also be regarded as specifically distinct.

Their taxonomic status is enigmatic, as is their very existence on the island, separated from North Africa by a considerable stretch of the Mediterranean which tortoises are hardly able to cross.

There is a distinct local form of the marginated tortoise on the island, however, and that seems to have originated from a deliberate introduction by humans, perhaps by Greek or Roman landowners in the classical antiquity.

Nonetheless, because the present taxon may well turn out not to be limited to Tunisia and its immediate surroundings, the alternative common name Nabeul tortoise might actually be preferable.