The Sonoran Desert tortoise (''Gopherus morafkai''), or Morafka's desert tortoise, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like ot ...

native to the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizon ...

Taxon history

In 2011, on the basis of DNA, geographic, and behavioral differences between desert tortoises east and west of the Colorado River, it was decided that two species of desert tortoises exist:

Agassiz's desert tortoise 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 thornscr ...

(''Gopherus agassizii'') and Morafka's desert tortoise (''Gopherus morafkai'').Genetic Analysis Splits Desert Tortoise into Two Species
US Geological Survey (2011-06-28). Retrieved on 2019-08-22. ''G. morafkai'' occurs east of the Colorado River in Arizona, as well as in the states of

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

and

Sinaloa, Mexico Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and ...

. The new species name is in honor of the late Professor David Joseph Morafka of

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

, in recognition of his many contributions to the study and conservation of ''Gopherus''.

References

{{Taxonbar , from=Q2113453 Gopherus Turtles of North America Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of the United States Reptiles described in 2011 Taxa named by Amy Lathrop Taxa named by Robert W. Murphy Taxa named by Alan E. Leviton