Mojave Desert Tortoise

Photo: (c) Pacific Southwest Region USFWS, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC-BY)

Turtle Species

Mojave Desert Tortoise

Gopherus agassizii

  • Scientific nameGopherus agassizii
  • Japanese nameサバクゴファーガメ
  • FamilyTortoises (Testudinidae)
  • Max carapace length36 cm
  • Longest recorded lifespan100 years
  • DietHerbivorous
  • LifestyleTerrestrial
  • Conservation status (IUCN)CR — Critically Endangered
  • iNaturalist observations4,913

About this species

The desert tortoise is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and to the Sinaloan thornscrub of northwestern Mexico. G. agassizii is distributed in western Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah. The specific name agassizii is in honor of Swiss-American zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz. The desert tortoise is the official state reptile in California and Nevada.

Source: Wikipedia「Desert tortoise」 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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