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Gopherus polyphemus (DAUDIN, 1801)

IUCN Red List - Gopherus polyphemus - Vulnerable, VU
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Higher TaxaTestudinidae, Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: (Florida) Gopher Tortoise
G: Florida Gopherschildkröte 
SynonymTestudo polyphemus DAUDIN 1801: 256
Testudo depressa GUÉRIN-MÉNEVILLE 1829
Testudo Polyphemus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 104
Testudo gopher GRAY 1844
Testudo Polyphemus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 220
Gopherus polyphemus — STEJNEGER 1893
Gopherus polyphemus polyphemus, MERTENS & WERMUTH 1955
Gopherus polyphemus— AUFFENBERG & FRANZ 1978
Gopherus polyphemus — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 272
Gopherus polyphemus — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 74
Gopherus polyphemus — CROTHER 2000
Gopherus polyphemus — MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2004
Gopherus polyphemus — TTWG 2014
Gopherus polyphemus — TTWG 2021 
DistributionUSA (along the Atlantic Coastal Plain in S South Carolina, Georgia, S Alabama, Florida, E Louisiana, Mississippi)

Type locality: vicinity of Savannah, Georgia (restricted by K.P. SCHMIDT 1953)  
Reproductionoviparous. Exhibits temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) fide Cornejo-Páramo et al. 2020 (and references therein). 
TypesSyntypes: unlocated (Iverson 1992: 261) 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (6116 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentGopherus agassizii and G. berlandieri have been considered as subspecies of G. polyphemus previously.

Distribution: See map in Winchell (2006).

Type species: Testudo polyphemus DAUDIN 1802: 256 is the type species of the genus Gopherus RAFINESQUE 1832: 64.

Karyotype (genus): The diploid chromosome number is 52 (26 macrochromosomes, 26 microchromosomes): 20 metacentric and submetacentric, 10 subtelocentric, 22 acrocentric and telocentric chromosomes (Stock, 1972; Killebrew and McKown, 1978; Dowler and Bickham, 1982). 
EtymologyNamed after Greek polyphemus, a cave-dwelling giant in Greek mythology.

The genus was apparently named after French “gaufre” for a small burrowing animal. 
References
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  • Allen, E. Ross; Neill, Wilfred T. 1953. Juveniles of the tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus. Copeia 1953 (2): 128 - get paper here
  • Allen, Morrow J. 1932. A survey of the Amphibians and reptiles of Harrison County, Mississippi. American Museum Novitates (542): 1-20 - get paper here
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  • Ashton Ray E. & Patrica Ashton 2008. THE NATURAL HISTORY AND MANAGEMENT OF THE GOPHER TORTOISE (GOPHERUS POLYPHEMUS DAUDIN). Krieger Publishing Company, 288 pp.
  • Ashton, K.G., B.M. Engelhardt & B.S. Branciforte 2008. Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Abundance and Distribution after Prescribed Fire Reintroduction to Florida Scrub and Sandhill at Archbold Biological Station Journal of Herpetology 42 (3): 523-529. - get paper here
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  • Castellón, Traci D.; Betsie B. Rothermel, and Javan M. Bauder 2018. Gopher Tortoise Burrow Use, Home Range, Seasonality, and Habitat Fidelity in Scrub and Mesic Flatwoods of Southern Florida. Herpetologica 74 (1): 8-21. - get paper here
  • Castellón, Traci D.; Betsie B. Rothermel, and Saif Z. Nomani 2012. Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Burrow Densities in Scrub and Flatwoods Habitats of Peninsular Florida. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Dec 2012, Vol. 11, No. 2: 153-161. - get paper here
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  • Catano, Christopher P.; James J. Angelo, and I. Jack Stout 2014. Sample Grain Influences the Functional Relationship Between Canopy Cover and Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Burrow Abandonment. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Dec 2014, Vol. 13, No. 2: 166-172. - get paper here
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  • Dirr, Kaitlyn M.; Jaime C. Pawelek, Joshua P. Stone & Matthew E. Kimball 2024. Seasonal and Diel Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Activity and Burrow Use by Commensals in Coastal Beach Dune Habitat as Examined by Wildlife Cameras Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jun 2024 Vol. 23, No. 1: 35-47 - get paper here
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  • Figueroa, Adrian; James Lange & Steven M. Whitfield 2021. Seed Consumption by Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) in the Globally Imperiled Pine Rockland Ecosystem of Southern Florida, USA. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jun 2021 Vol. 20, No. 1: 27-34 - get paper here
  • Goessling, J.M., M.T. Mendonca & A.G. Appel 2018. Assessment of Seasonal Metabolic Acclimation in Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus): Does Dormancy Reduce Metabolic Rate? Copeia 106 (1): 56-62. - get paper here
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  • Lamb, Blake D.; Corey D. Anderson, Colleen M. Mcdonough, J. Mitchell Lockhart & Zachary P. Butler 2023. A Comparison of Vertebrate Associates of Gopher Tortoise and Nine-Banded Armadillo Burrows in South Georgia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Dec 2023 Vol. 22, No. 2: 184-196 - get paper here
  • Lamb, Jennifer Y.; Joshua R. Ennen, and Carl P. Qualls 2013. Environmental Characteristics of Nest Sites Selected by Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) in Southern Mississippi. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Dec 2013, Vol. 12, No. 2: 227-234. - get paper here
  • Lamb, Trip;Avise, John C.;Gibbons, J. Whitfield 1989. Phylogeographic patterns in mitochondrial DNA of the desert tortoise (Xerobates agassizi), and evolutionary relationships among the North American gopher tortoises. Evolution 43 (1): 76-87 - get paper here
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  • Lönnberg, Einar 1894. Notes on reptiles and batrachians collected in Florida in 1892 and 1893. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 17 (1003): 317-339 - get paper here
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  • Metzger, Cheryl J. 2013. Python molurus bivittatus (Burmese python) habitat use / occurrence within Gopherus polyphemus burrows. Herpetological Review 44 (2): 333-334 - get paper here
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  • Mushinsky, H.R. & McCoy, E.D. 2006. Die Gopherschildkröte (Gopherus polyphemus). Reptilia (Münster) 11 (62): 35-40 - get paper here
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  • Paden, Lance; Kimberly M. Andrews, Carmen Candal, and James F. Renner 2020. Use of Prescribed Fire to Increase Detectability of Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Burrows Prior to Relocation. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 15 (2): - get paper here
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  • Pawelek, Jaime C. and Matthew E. Kimball 2014. Gopher Tortoise Ecology in Coastal Upland and Beach Dune Habitats in Northeast Florida. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jul 2014, Vol. 13, No. 1: 27-34. - get paper here
  • Perez-Heydrich, Carolina; Katharine Jackson, Lori D Wendland, and Mary B Brown 2012. Gopher Tortoise Hatchling Survival: Field Study and Meta-Analysis. Herpetologica 68 (3): 334-344. - get paper here
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  • Radzio, Thomas A.; James A. Cox, and Michael P. O'Connor 2017. Hatching Success and Other Reproductive Attributes of Gopher Tortoises in Southwest Georgia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 16 (1): 103-105. - get paper here
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