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Gopherus
''Gopherus'' is a genus of fossorial tortoises commonly referred to as gopher tortoises. The gopher tortoise is grouped with land tortoises that originated 60 million years ago, in North America. A genetic study has shown that their closest relatives are in the Asian genus ''Manouria''. The gopher tortoises live in the southern United States from California's Mojave Desert across to Florida, and in parts of northern Mexico. Gopher tortoises are so named because of some species' habit of digging large, deep burrows (gophers are small terrestrial burrowing rodents). Most notably, ''Gopherus polyphemus'' digs burrows which can be up to in length and in depth. These burrows are used by a variety of other species, including mammals, other reptiles, amphibians, and birds. Gopher tortoises are in length, depending on the species. All six species are found in xeric habitats. Numerous extinct species are known, the oldest dating to the Priabonian stage of the Late Eocene of the United ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopherus Polyphemus
The gopher tortoise (''Gopherus polyphemus'') is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide shelter for at least 360 other animal species. ''G. polyphemus'' is threatened by predation and habitat destruction. Habitat degradation is the primary reason that the gopher tortoise is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, but they are considered threatened in some states while they are endangered in others. The gopher tortoise is a representative of the genus ''Gopherus'', which contains the only tortoises native to North America. The gopher tortoise is the state reptile of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the state tortoise of Florida. Etymology Tortoises of the genus ''Gopherus'' are so named because of some species' habit of digging large, deep burrows like those of gophers. The Specific name (zoology), spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopherus Evgoodei, Sonora, Mexico
''Gopherus'' is a genus of fossorial tortoises commonly referred to as gopher tortoises. The gopher tortoise is grouped with land tortoises that originated 60 million years ago, in North America. A genetic study has shown that their closest relatives are in the Asian genus '' Manouria''. The gopher tortoises live in the southern United States from California's Mojave Desert across to Florida, and in parts of northern Mexico. Gopher tortoises are so named because of some species' habit of digging large, deep burrows (gophers are small terrestrial burrowing rodents). Most notably, ''Gopherus polyphemus'' digs burrows which can be up to in length and in depth. These burrows are used by a variety of other species, including mammals, other reptiles, amphibians, and birds. Gopher tortoises are in length, depending on the species. All six species are found in xeric habitats. Numerous extinct species are known, the oldest dating to the Priabonian stage of the Late Eocene of the Unite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desert Tortoise
The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii'') is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, 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 Louis Agassiz, Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz. The desert tortoise is the official state reptile in California and Nevada. The desert tortoise lives about 50 to 80 years; it grows slowly and generally has a low reproductive rate. It spends most of its time in burrows, rock shelters, and pallets to regulate body temperature and reduce water loss. It is most active after seasonal rains and is inactive during most of the year. This inactivity helps reduce water loss during hot periods, whereas winter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopherus Agassizii
The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii'') 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. The desert tortoise lives about 50 to 80 years; it grows slowly and generally has a low reproductive rate. It spends most of its time in burrows, rock shelters, and pallets to regulate body temperature and reduce water loss. It is most active after seasonal rains and is inactive during most of the year. This inactivity helps reduce water loss during hot periods, whereas winter brumation facilitates survival during freezing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Tortoise (Gopherus Berlandieri) (57391706)
The Texas tortoise (''Gopherus berlandieri'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species ''G. berlandieri'' is one of six species of tortoises that are native to North America. Geographic range ''G. berlandieri'' (Texas Tortoise) is found in the southern third of Texas (roughly parallel to Houston) southward into the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Within its range, it inhabits semi-arid regions characterized by mesquite shrub and cactus dominated landscapes. Etymology The specific epithet, ''berlandieri'', is in honor of naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier, who worked for the Mexican government on one of the first biological surveys of Texas.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Berlandier's Tortoise ''Gopherus berlandieri'' ", p. 24). As such, some sources refer to it as Berlandier's tortoise. Biology The Texas t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopherus Evgoodei
The Goode's thornscrub tortoise, also known as the Sinaloan thornscrub tortoise, Sinaloan desert tortoise or Goode's desert tortoise (''Gopherus evgoodei''), is a species of tortoise that is native to the Sinaloan desert region. First described in 2016, ''G. evgoodei'' inhabits Tropical Deciduous Forest and Sinaloan Desertscrub biomes in Mexico. Its range may overlap in the north with ''G. morafkai'', the Morafka's or Sonoran desert tortoise. Goode's thornscrub tortoise is named for Eric V. Goode, a conservationist, naturalist, and founder of the Turtle Conservancy. Taxon history Bogert and Oliver were the first researchers to notice a distinct morphology in the southern range of what was then considered '' G. agassizii'', but could not confirm a new species due to limitations of small sample size. Edwards et al. sampled 233 tortoises that represented Sonoran and Sinaloan lineages of ''G. morafkai.'' The authors then conducted a large-scale genetic analysis that when combi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tortoise
Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like other members of the suborder Cryptodira, they retract their necks and heads directly backward into the shell to protect them. Tortoises can vary in size with some species, such as the Galápagos giant tortoise, growing to more than in length, whereas others like the Speckled cape tortoise have shells that measure only long. Several lineages of tortoises have independently evolved very large body sizes in excess of , including the Galapagos giant tortoise and the Aldabra giant tortoise. They are usually diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive animals. Tortoises are the longest-living land animals in the world, although the longest-living species of tortois ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopherus Flavomarginatus
The Bolson tortoise (''Gopherus flavomarginatus''), also called the Mexican giant tortoise, Mexican gopher tortoise, yellow-bordered tortoise or yellow-margined tortoise, is a species of tortoise from North America. Of the six North American tortoise species, it is the largest, having a carapace length of about . It lives in a region of the Chihuahuan Desert known as the Bolsón de Mapimí, which is located in north-central Mexico. Discovery The Bolson tortoise was discovered only in 1959. The legend is that a group of biologists working in the Bolsón de Mapimí were at a ranch and saw chickens eating out of a large tortoise shell. They inquired about the origin of the shell and the locals responded by saying that it was, "la tortuga grande del desierto", the big turtle of the desert. In 1979 the 340,000 hectare Mapimi Biosphere Reserve was created to protect the Bolson tortoise and other unique flora and fauna of the Bolsón de Mapimí. Despite this designation, cattle ranchin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopherus Morafkai
The Sonoran Desert tortoise (''Gopherus morafkai''), or Morafka's desert tortoise, is a species of terrestrial chelonian reptile of the family Testudinidae (tortoises) native to the Sonoran Desert. Taxon history In 2011, using DNA evidence, geography, and behavioral observations, it was concluded that two distinct species of desert tortoise exist on either side (east-west) of the Colorado River: *the Mojave or Agassiz's desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''); known primarily from the California counties of Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego. Its range continues northeast of Death Valley and the Mojave Desert through the Nevada counties of Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln and Nye, as well as Mohave County, in Arizona, and extreme southwestern Utah, near Zion National Park. *the Sonoran or Morafka's desert tortoise (''Gopherus morafkai''); [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamaulipan Mezquital
The Tamaulipan mezquital (), also known as the Brush Country, is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in the Southern United States and northeastern Mexico. It covers an area of , encompassing a portion of the Gulf Coastal Plain in southern Texas, northern Tamaulipas, northeastern Coahuila, and part of Nuevo León. Distribution The Sierra Madre Oriental range to the west separates the Tamaulipan mezquital from the drier Chihuahuan Desert. The Tamaulipan matorral is a transitional ecoregion between the mezquital and the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests to the west and the Veracruz moist forests to the south. The Western Gulf coastal grasslands, known as the Tamaulipan pastizal south of the border, fringe the Gulf of Mexico. The Edwards Plateau savannas lie to the north, and the East Central Texas forests and Texas blackland prairies to the northeast. Geography The Bordas Escarpment transects this ecoregion, running from near the southern limit northwest to the vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manouria
''Manouria'' is a genus of tortoises in the family Testudinidae. The genus was erected by John Edward Gray in 1854. Transitional adaptations ''Manouria'' is either the most basal or second most basal member of the family Testudinidae (its phylogenetic position is adjacent to that of '' Gopherus''). As a result, while tortoises are primarily terrestrial, the genus ''Manouria'' is a model for the evolutionary transition to terrestriality, as it still has an affinity for aquatic environments, and has retained some ancestral adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle while losing others. The Asian forest tortoise (''Manouria emys'') has been observed attempting to feed on submerged food items, albeit unsuccessfully. Additionally, the species grasps food item with its jaws as in aquatic or semiaquatic taxa, as opposed to first making contact with the tongue as with all other tortoise species (with the possible exception of ''Gopherus''). Species The following five species are recognized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
