The Sardinian marginated tortoise ("T. m. sarda") is the name usually used to separate the population on the island of Sardinia. These tortoises have less strongly bent tiles in the posterior of their carapaces, and the posterior of the carapace is almost smooth compared with the saw-like "T. m. marginata". Clearly distinct according to morphology and entirely allopatric, it cannot be distinguished by mtDNA cytochrome "b" and nDNA ISSR sequence analysis. Lineage sorting has not occurred to a considerable degree; consequently, the more geographically isolated Sardinian population is presumably of quite recent origin.