A population of small and light-colored marginated tortoises exists on the southwestern coast of the Peloponnesus, between Kalamata and south of Stoupa. The so-called "dwarf marginated tortoise" was described as a new species "Testudo weissingeri", but it is not recognizably distinct phylogenetically. Unlike the Sardinian population, it occupies an extremely restricted range with very arid habitat, and its apomorphies seem related to this. Considering ice age-associated climate and sea level changes, this population is probably not older than a few thousand years; as it is not geographically isolated, it should be considered a local form, and not even a subspecies "T. m. weissingeri". Notably, a similar situation is found in Hermann's tortoises living in the same region.