Texas tortoise facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Texas tortoise
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Gopherus
Species:	berlandieri
Synonyms
Xerobates berlandieri Agassiz, 1857 Testudo berlandieri — Strauch, 1862 Xerobates gopher berlandieri — Gray, 1873 Testudo tuberculata Berlandier, 1882 (nomen nudum) Gopherus berlandieri — Stejneger, 1893 Gopherus polyphemus berlandieri — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955 Gopherus berlandierii [sic] Reeves, 1975 (ex errore) Scaptochelys berlandieri — Bramble, 1982 Gopherus berlanderi [sic] Rogner, 1996 (ex errore)

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 is found from southern Texas southward into the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.

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.^[1] As such, some sources refer to it as Berlandier's tortoise.

Biology

The Texas tortoise, unlike other species of gopher tortoise, is not an adept burrower. Its preferred habitat is dry scrub and grasslands. Succulent plants, a preferred food of the Texas tortoise, are common in these areas. It especially likes the fruit of cacti such as the prickly pear.

Conservation status

Though considered an animal of low concern by the IUCN Red List, the Texas tortoise is listed as a threatened species in the state of Texas, and thus protected by state law. It is illegal to collect or possess them. The Mexican federal government list Gopherus berlandieri as A (= Threatened) in Mexico. Likewise, using Environmental Vulnerability Scores, Gopherus berlandieri scored 18, a high vulnerability species on a scale of 0-20, in evaluations of both Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon herpetofauna.

Gallery

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  Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), Val Verde Co, Texas, USA (2005).

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  Gopherus berlandieri, Bee Co. Texas, USA (June 2011).

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  Gopherus berlandieri Bee Co. Texas, USA (2011).

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  Elongated gular scutes of male, Bee Co. Texas, USA (2011).

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  Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), northern Tamaulipas, Mexico (2007).

• Species Gopherus berlandieri at The Reptile Database

See also

In Spanish: Tortuga de Texas para niños