Gopher tortoise
| Gopher tortoise | |
|---|---|
| Gopher tortoise at Lake June in Winter Scrub State Park in Highlands County, Florida, U.S. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Family: | Testudinidae |
| Genus: | Gopherus |
| Species: | G. polyphemus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Gopherus polyphemus Daudin, 1802
| |
| Synonyms[3] | |
| |
The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a species of tortoise in the 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. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the gopher tortoise as "vulnerable", primarily because of habitat degradation; the animals are considered threatened in some states while they are endangered in others.[4]
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 and the state tortoise of Florida.[5][6][7]
- ^ Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (1996). "Gopherus polyphemus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T9403A12983629. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T9403A12983629.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 281–282. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. S2CID 87809001.
- ^ Tuberville, Tracey D.; Clark, Erin E.; Buhlmann, Kurt A.; Gibbons, J. Whitfield (November 2005). "Translocation as a conservation tool: site fidelity and movement of repatriated gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus)". Animal Conservation Forum. 8 (4): 349–358. Bibcode:2005AnCon...8..349T. doi:10.1017/S1367943005002398. ISSN 1469-1795. S2CID 1187315.
- ^ "Florida legislation that passed and that failed". St. Petersburg Times. May 4, 2008. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
- ^ "15.03861. Official state tortoise. History.—s. 2, ch. 2008–34 (hist)" (scroll down). 2010 Florida statutes (chapter 15). Florida State Legislature. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
- ^ Shearer & Shearer 1994, p. 314.