Gopher tortoise

Gopher tortoise
Gopher tortoise at Lake June in Winter Scrub State Park in Highlands County, Florida, U.S.
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
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. 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.[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]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ Shearer & Shearer 1994, p. 314.