You are here » home › search results › Gopherus agassizii

Gopherus agassizii (COOPER, 1861)

IUCN Red List - Gopherus agassizii - Vulnerable, VU
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Gopherus agassizii?

Add your own observation of
Gopherus agassizii »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaTestudinidae, Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise, (Californian) Desert Tortoise
S: Galápago del Desierto 
SynonymXerobates agassizii COOPER 1861
Testudo agassizii — BOULENGER 1889
Gopherus agassizii — STEJNEGER 1893
Gopherus polyphemus agassizii — MERTENS & WERMUTH 1955
Gopherus agassizii— AUFFENBERG & FRANZ 1978
Gopherus agassizii — STEBBINS 1985: 104
Xerobates lepidocephalus OTTLEY & VELÁZQUES SOLIS 1989
Gopherus agassizii — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 273
Gopherus agassizii — LINER 1994
Gopherus agassizii — CROTHER 2000
Gopherus agassizii — TTWG 2014
Gopherus agassizii — TTWG 2021 
DistributionUSA (S Nevada, SW California, W Arizona, New Mexico),
Mexico (N Baja California)

Xerobates lepidocephalus: Sierra San Vincente region, approx. 1.5 km north of the Buena Mujer Dam, 20 km (by air) south of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Type locality: mountains near Fort Mojave, California. Restricted to “California, San Bernardino County; Mountains of California, near Fort Mojave; Soda Valley (very approximately 35° 6' N, 116° 6' W), by MURPHY et al. 2011.  
ReproductionOviparous. Gopherus agassizii can hybridize with Gopherus berlandieri (Edwards et al. 2010). Exhibits temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) fide Cornejo-Páramo et al. 2020 (and references therein). 
TypesLectotype: USNM 7888 (designated by MURPHY et al. 2011)
Holotype: BYU 39706 [G. lepidocephalus] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2805 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentThe date of publication is 1861, rather than 1863 (MURPHY et al. 2011).

Genome: A draft genome and transcriptome has been published by Tollis et al. 2017. Scott et al. 2020 show that genomic heterozygosity improves survival and adaptability in nature.

Distribution: not in Sonora (including Tiburon Island in the Gulf of California) fide Lemos-Espinal et al. 2019. Not in Sinaloa (Lemos-Espinal & Smith 2020). 
EtymologyNamed after Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), Swiss zoologist. See Bastos & Sa 2011 for further biographical details. 
References
  • Akeret, Beat 2015. Reptilien und Sukkulenten. Draco 16 (62): 21-27
  • Allison, Linda J. and Ann M. McLuckie 2018. Population Trends in Mojave Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). Herp. Cons. Biol. 13 (2): 433–452 - get paper here
  • Anderson, K & Berry, K H 2019. Gopherus agassizii (Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise) Predation. Herpetological Review 50 (2): 351 - get paper here
  • Auffenberg W; Franz R 1978. Gopherus agassizii (Cooper). Desert tortoise. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles ( 212: 1-2 - get paper here
  • Auffenberg, W., & Franz, R. 1978. Gopherus Rafinesque: gopher tortoises. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (211): 1-2 [species accounts in nos. 212-215] - get paper here
  • Auffenberg, Walter 1977. Display Behavior in Tortoises. American Zoologist 17: 241-250 - get paper here
  • Averill-Murray, R.C. 2000. Reproduction and activity of Desert Tortoises at Sugarloaf Mountain, Arizona. Sonoran Herpetologist 13 (9):98-102. - get paper here
  • Averill-Murray, R.C. & A. Averill-Murray 2005. Regional-Scale Estimation of Density and Habitat use of the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in Arizona Journal of Herpetology 39 (1): 65-72. - get paper here
  • Averill-Murray, R.C., and C.M. Klug. 1999. Reproduction in Desert Tortoises in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona. Sonoran Herpetologist 12 (7):70-72. - get paper here
  • Averill-Murray, Roy C. and Bridgette E. Hagerty 2014. Translocation Relative to Spatial Genetic Structure of the Mojave Desert Tortoise, Gopherus agassizii. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jul 2014, Vol. 13, No. 1: 35-41. - get paper here
  • Bailey, S.J., C.R. Schwalbe & C.H. Lowe 1995. Hibernaculum Use by a Population of Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Sonoran Desert Journal of Herpetology 29 (3): 361-369. - get paper here
  • Barrett, S.L. 1990. Home Range and Habitat of the Desert Tortoise (Xerobates agassizi) in the Picacho Mountains of Arizona Herpetologica 46 (2): 202-206. - get paper here
  • Barrows, Cameron W.; Brian T. Henen, and Alice E. Karl 2016. Identifying Climate Refugia: A Framework to Inform Conservation Strategies for Agassiz's Desert Tortoise in a Warmer Future. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 15 (1): 2-11. - get paper here
  • Bastos, Francisco Inácio & Magali Romero Sa 2011. The scientist as historian: Paulo Vanzolini and the origins of zoology in Brazil. História, Ciências, Saúde – Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro 18 (4): 1021-1038 - get paper here
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Berry, K.H. 1986. Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Research in California, 1976-1985 Herpetologica 42 (1): 62-67. - get paper here
  • Berry, K.H. 1986. Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Relocation: Implications of Social Behavior and Movements Herpetologica 42 (1): 113-125. - get paper here
  • Berry, K.H. & Murphy, R.W. 2019. Gopherus agassizii (Cooper 1861) – Mojave Desert Tortoise, Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(13):109.1–45 - get paper here
  • Berry, Kristin H., Shields, Tim and Jacobson, Elliott R. 2016. Gopherus agassizii (Mohave Desert Tortoise) Probable rattlesnake envenomation. Herpetological Review 47 (4): 652-653 - get paper here
  • Berry, Kristin H.; Jeremy S. Mack, Kemp M. Anderson & Michael W. Tuma 2024. Young, Wild Desert Tortoises Lead Solitary Lives Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jun 2024 Vol. 23, No. 1: 130-132 - get paper here
  • Berry, Kristin H.; Julie L. Yee & Lisa M. Lyren 2020. Feral Burros and Other Influences on Desert Tortoise Presence in the Western Sonoran Desert. Herpetologica 76 (4): 403-413 - get paper here
  • Berry, Kristin H.; Julie L. Yee, Ashley A. Coble, William M. Perry, and Timothy A. Shields 2013. Multiple Factors Affect a Population of Agassiz's Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the Northwestern Mojave Desert. Herpetological Monographs 27 (1): 87-109 - get paper here
  • Berry, Kristin H.; Lisa M. Lyren, Julie L. Yee, and Tracy Y. Bailey 2014. Protection Benefits Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Abundance: The Influence of Three Management Strategies on a Threatened Species. Herpetological Monographs, 28: 66-92 - get paper here
  • Bjurlin, C.D. & J.A. Bissonette 2004. Survival during Early Life Stages of the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the South-Central Mojave Desert Journal of Herpetology 38 (4): 527-535. - get paper here
  • Bonin, F., Devaux, B. & Dupré, A. 2006. Turtles of the World. English translation by P.C.H. Pritchard. Johns Hopkins University Press, 416 pp.
  • Brennan, I. G. 2012. Gopherus agassizii (Mojave desert tortoise) diet. Herpetological Review 43: 638-639 - get paper here
  • Britten, H.B., B.R. Riddle, P.F. Brussard, R. Marlow & T.E. Lee, Jr. 1997. Genetic Delineation of Management Units for the Desert Tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, in Northeastern Mojave Desert Copeia 1997 (3): 523-530. - get paper here
  • Bruekers, Jaco 2004. In der sporen van de Amerikaanse Woestijnschildpad, Gopherus agassizii (Cooper 1863). Lacerta 62 (5): 198-2005 - get paper here
  • Bulova, S.J. 1997. Conspecific Chemical Cues Influence Burrow Choice by Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) Copeia 1997 (4): 802-810. - get paper here
  • Cohn, Brian; Bryan Wallace, Chris Grouios, Brett Dickson, Rick Scherer, Amanda Kissel, Miranda E. Gray, and T.G. Jackson 2021. Heavy Metal Concentrations in Mojave Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) Related to a Mitigation Translocation Project, Ivanpah Valley, California, USA [Supplemental Information] Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 16(1):
  • Cooper, J,G. 1861. New Californian Animals. Proc. California Acad. Vol. 2: 118-123 - get paper here
  • Cornejo-Páramo, P., Lira-Noriega, A., Ramírez-Suástegui, C. et al. 2020. Sex determination systems in reptiles are related to ambient temperature but not to the level of climatic fluctuation. BMC Evol Biol 20: 103 - get paper here
  • Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2012. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Seventh Edition. Herpetological Circular 39: 1-92
  • Crumly, C. R. 1994. Phylogenetic systematics of North American tortoises (genus Gopherus): evidence for their classification. Fish and Wildlife Research 13: 7-32
  • Crumly, C. R. & Grismer, L.L. 1994. Validity of the tortoise Xerobates lepidocephalus OTTLEY and VELAZQUES in Baja California. Fish and Wildlife Research 13: 33-37
  • CUMMINGS, KRISTY L. & JEFFREY E. LOVICH. 2021. GOPHERUS AGASSIZII (Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise). OVERWINTER MOVEMENT. Herpetological Review 52 (1): 128–129. - get paper here
  • Cummings, Kristy L.; Jeffrey E. Lovich, Shellie R. Puffer, Terence R. Arundel & Kathleen D. Brundige 2020. Micro-geographic variation in burrow use of Agassiz’s desert tortoises in the Sonoran Desert of California. The Herpetological Journal 30: 177-188 - get paper here
  • Currylow, Andrea, Andrew D. Walde and Angela M. Walde. 2016. Gopherus agassizii (Mojave Desert Tortoise) and Coluber flagellum piceus (Red Racer) Burrow associates. Herpetological Review 47 (1): 122-123 - get paper here
  • Curtin, A.J.; G.R. Zug; J.R. Spotila 2009. Longevity and growth strategies of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in two American deserts. Journal of Arid Environments 73: 463–471 - get paper here
  • Curtin, Amanda J.; , George R. Zug,, Philip A. Medica, James R. Spotila 2008. Assessing age in the desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii: testing skeletochronology with individuals of known age. Endang Species Res 5 : 21-27 - get paper here
  • Daly, Jacob A.; Kurt A. Buhlmann, Brian D. Todd, Clinton T. Moore, J. Mark Peaden, and Tracey D. Tuberville 2018. Comparing Growth and Body Condition of Indoor-reared, Outdoor-reared, and Direct-released Juvenile Mojave Desert Tortoises. Herp. Cons. Biol. 13 (3): 622–633 - get paper here
  • Drake, K. K., Medica, P. A., Esque, T. C. & Nussear, K. E. 2012. Gopherus agassizii (Agassiz's desert tortoise) scute dysecdysis / scute sloughing. Herpetological Review 43: 473-474 - get paper here
  • Edwards, T. 2008. Turtle trouble in Kingman, Arizona. Sonoran Herpetologist 21 (6):62-65. - get paper here
  • Edwards, T.; Jarchow, C.J.; Jones, C.A. & Bonine, K.E. 2010. Tracing Genetic Lineages of Captive Desert Tortoises in Arizona. Journal of Wildlife Management 74(4):801–807;] - get paper here
  • Ennen, Joshua R.; Jeffrey E. Lovich, Katherin P. Meyer, Curtis Bjurlin, and Terence R. Arundel 2012. Nesting Ecology of a Population of Gopherus agassizii at a Utility-Scale Wind Energy Facility in Southern California. Copeia 2012 (2): 222-228. - get paper here
  • Ernst, Carl H.; Lovich, Jeffrey E. 2009. Turtles of the United States and Canada, 2nd edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 827 pp. - get paper here
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • FLESCH, AARON D.; DON E. SWANN, DALE S. TURNER, AND BRIAN F. POWELL 2010. HERPETOFAUNA OF THE RINCON MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA. Southwestern Naturalist 55(2):240–253 - get paper here
  • Grandmaison, David D.; Michael F. Ingraldi, and Frances R. Peck 2010. Desert Tortoise Microhabitat Selection on the Florence Military Reservation, South-Central Arizona. Journal of Herpetology 44 (4): 581–590 - get paper here
  • Hagerty, B.E.; Peacock, M.M.; Kirchoff, V.S. & Tracy, C.R. 2008. Polymorphic microsatellite markers for the Mojave desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii. Molecular Ecology Resources 8: 1149–1151 - get paper here
  • Hansen, R.M., M.K. Johnson & T.R. Van Devender 1976. Foods of the Desert Tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, in Arizona and Utah Herpetologica 32 (3): 247-251. - get paper here
  • Harbinson, C.F. 1937. The Adobe Tick on Gopherus agassizii Herpetologica 1 (3): 80. - get paper here
  • Hardy, L.M., & McDiarmid, R.W. 1969. The amphibians and reptiles of Sinaloa, Mexico. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 18 (3): 39-252. - get paper here
  • Hazard, L.C. & D.J. Morafka 2004. Characteristics of Burrows Used by Juvenile and Neonate Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) during Hibernation Journal of Herpetology 38 (3): 443-447. - get paper here
  • Hazard, L.C., D.R. Shemanski & K.A. Nagy 2009. Nutritional Quality of Natural Foods of Juvenile Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii): Energy, Nitrogen, and Fiber Digestibility Journal of Herpetology 43 (1): 38-48. - get paper here
  • Hazard, Lisa C.; Danielle R. Shemanski, and Kenneth A. Nagy 2010. Nutritional Quality of Natural Foods of Juvenile and Adult Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii): Calcium, Phosphorus, and Magnesium Digestibility. Journal of Herpetology 44 (1): 135–147 - get paper here
  • Henderson, R. A., S. R. Puffer and J. E. Lovich 2016. Gopherus agassizii (Mohave Desert Tortoise) nest depredation. Herpetological Review 47(3): 446-447. - get paper here
  • Jackson, C.G., Jr., J.A. Trotter, T.H. Trotter & M.W. Trotter 1976. Accelerated Growth Rate and Early Maturity in Gopherus agassizi (Reptilia: Testudines) Herpetologica 32 (2): 139-145. - get paper here
  • Jeremy S. Mack, Heather E. Schneider, and Kristin H. Berry 2018. Crowding Affects Health, Growth, and Behavior in Headstart Pens for Agassiz's Desert Tortoise. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jun 2018, Vol. 17, No. 1: 14-26. - 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
  • Lamb, Trip;Lydeard, Charles 1994. A molecular phylogeny of the gopher tortoises, with comments on familial relationships within the Testudinoidea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 3 (4): 283-291 - get paper here
  • Laufer, Peter 2013. The accidental tortoise: A threatened species clashes with "Green" energy. The Tortoise 1 (2): 46-55.
  • Lee, H.H. 1963. Egg-Laying in Captivity by Gopherus agassizi Cooper Herpetologica 19 (1): 62-65. - get paper here
  • Legler, J.M.& Vogt, R.C. 2013. The Turtles of Mexico: Land and Freshwater Forms. University of California Press, 416 pp. - get paper here
  • Llamas, Macario; Christina La Croix, Elizabeth Williams, and William Perry Baker 2017. Hematological values in captive Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) from Maricopa County, Arizona. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 24 (3): 187–190 - get paper here
  • Longshore, K.M., J.R. Jaeger & J.M. Sappington 2003. Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Survival at Two Eastern Mojave Desert Sites: Death by Short-Term Drought? Journal of Herpetology 37 (1): 169-177. - get paper here
  • Loomis, R.B. & J.C. Geest 1964. The Desert Tortoise Gopherus agassizi in Sinaloa, México Herpetologica 20 (3): 203. - get paper here
  • Lovich, Jeffrey E. 2011. Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise) and Crotalus ruber (red diamond rattlesnake) burrow co-occupancy. Herpetological Review 42 (3): 421 - get paper here
  • Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Joshua R. Ennen, Charles B. Yackulic, Kathie Meyer-Wilkins, Mickey Agha, Caleb Loughran, Curtis Bjurlin, Meaghan Austin and Sheila Madrak 2015. Not putting all their eggs in one basket: bet-hedging despite extraordinary annual reproductive output of desert tortoises. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 115 (2): 399–410, DOI: 10.1111/bij.12505 - get paper here
  • Mack, Jeremy S.; Kristin H. Berry, David M. Miller, and Andrea S. Carlson 2015. Factors Affecting the Thermal Environment of Agassiz's Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Cover Sites in the Central Mojave Desert during Periods of Temperature Extremes. Journal of Herpetology Sep 2015, Vol. 49, No. 3: 405-414. - get paper here
  • MANNING, JEFFREY A.; TAYLOR EDWARDS, JOHN CLEMONS, DANIEL J. LEAVITT, CAREN S. GOLDBERG & MELANIE CULVER. 2022. Scat as a source of DNA for population monitoring. Ecology and Evolution 12(11): 1–7. - get paper here
  • Martin, B. 1996. The Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in a desert grassland community in southern Arizona. Sonoran Herpetologist 9 (4):31-35. - get paper here
  • McCord, W.P. & Joseph-Ouni, M. 2004. Chelonian Illustrations #14: North and South American Tortoises. Reptilia (GB) (34): 47-50 - get paper here
  • McLuckie, Ann M.;Lamb, Trip;Schwalbe, Cecil R.;McCord, Robert D. 1999. Genetic and morphometric assessment of an unusual tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) population in the Black Mountains of Arizona. Journal of Herpetology 33 (1): 36-44 - get paper here
  • McNaughton, K. 1989. The Tortoise adoption program at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Tucson Herpetological Society Newsletter 2(10):80-81.
  • Medica, P.A., R.B. Bury & R.A. Luckenbach 1980. Drinking and Construction of Water Catchments by the Desert Tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, in the Mojave Desert Herpetologica 36 (4): 301-304. - get paper here
  • Medica, Philip A.; Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, and Mary B. Saethre 2012. Long-Term Growth of Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in a Southern Nevada Population. Journal of Herpetology 46 (2): 213-220. - get paper here
  • Miller, Loye 1932. Notes on the desert tortoise (Testudo agassizii). Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History 7 (18): 187-208 + 2 plates - get paper here
  • Miller, Loye 1955. Further observations on the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizi, of California. Copeia 1955 (2): 113-118 - get paper here
  • Mitelberg, Anna; Amy G. Vandergast, Ken E. Nussear, Kirsten Dutcher & Todd C. Esque 2019. Development of a Genotyping Protocol for Mojave Desert Tortoise Scat. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Dec 2019 Vol. 18, No. 2: 123-132 - get paper here
  • Moll, D. 2008. Dietary characteristics and seed germination influences of Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in a very wet year (1998) in northeastern Sonoran Desert. Sonoran Herpetologist 21 (8):86-89. - get paper here
  • Moll, E.O. 2004. Gopherus agassizi (Cooper, 1863) – Desert Tortoise. Patronyms of the Pioneer West. Sonoran Herpetologist 17 (5):50-53. - get paper here
  • Moskovits, D. K. 1988. Sexual dimorphism and population estimates of the two Amazonian tortoises (Geochelone carbonaria and Geochelone denticulata) in northwestern Brasil. Herpetologica 44 (2): 209-217 - get paper here
  • Mueller, J.M., K.R. Sharp, K.K. Zander, D.L. Rakestraw, K.R. Rautenstrauch & P.E. Lederle 1998. Size-specific Fecundity of the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Journal of Herpetology 32 (3): 313-319. - get paper here
  • Murphy, R.W. 2011. The dazed and confused identity of Agassiz’s land tortoise, Gopherus agassizii (Testudines: Testudinidae) with the description of a new species, and its consequences for conservation. Sonoran Herpetologist 24 (7):71-72. - get paper here
  • Murphy, Robert W.;Kristin H. Berry, Taylor Edwards, Alan E. Leviton, Amy Lathrop, J. Daren Riedle 2011. The dazed and confused identity of Agassiz’s land tortoise, Gopherus agassizii (Testudines, Testudinidae) with the description of a new species, and its consequences for conservation. ZooKeys 113: 39–71; doi: 10.3897/zookeys.113.1353 - get paper here
  • Murray, Roy C.;Schwalbe, Cecil R.;Bailey, Scott J.;Cuneo, S. Peder;Hart, Scott D. 1996. Reproduction in a population of the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, in the Sonoran Desert. Herpetological Natural History 4 (1): 83-88
  • Nichols, U.G. 1953. Habits of the Desert Tortoise, Gopherus agassizii Herpetologica 9 (2): 65-69. - get paper here
  • Ottley, John R.; Solis, Victor M. Velazques 1989. An Extant, Indigenous Tortoise Population in Baja California Sur, Mexico, with the Description of a New Xerobates (Chelonii: Testudinidae). Great Basin Naturalist 49 (4): 496 - get paper here
  • Palmer, K.S., D.C. Rostal, J.S. Grumbles & M. Mulvey 1998. Long-term sperm storage in the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Copeia 1998 (3): 702-705. - get paper here
  • PARKER, LILLIAN D.; JESSICA D. QUINTA, ISABEL RIVERA, BRIAN L. CYPHER, ERICA C. KELLY, MICHAEL G. CAMPANA, ROBERT C. FLEISCHER, RYAN BOARMAN, WILLIAM I. BOARMAN & JESÚS E. MALDONADO. 2022. Genetic analyses are more sensitive than morphological inspection at detecting the presence of threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) remains in canid scat and raven pellets. Conservation Science and Practice. - get paper here
  • Patterson, R. 1971. The role of urination in egg predator defense in the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Herpetologica 27 (2): 197-199. - get paper here
  • Patterson, R. & B. Brattstrom 1972. Growth in Captive Gopherus agassizi Herpetologica 28 (2): 169-171. - get paper here
  • Peterson, Charles C. 1994. Different rates and causes of high mortality in two populations of the threatened desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii. Biological Conservation 70 (2): 101-108 - get paper here
  • Reiber, C.L., S. Malekpour & M. McDaniel 1999. Effects of Post-hatching Maintenance Temperature on Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Shell Morphology and Thermoregulatory Behavior Journal of Herpetology 33 (2): 234-240. - get paper here
  • Riedle, J. Daren, Roy C. Averill-Murray, Clayton L. Lutz and Darren K. Bolen. 2008. Habitat Use by Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) on Alluvial Fans in the Sonoran Desert, South-Central Arizona. Copeia 2008 (2): 414-420 - get paper here
  • Riedle, J. Daren; Roy C. Averill-Murray, and David D. Grandmaison 2010. Seasonal Variation in Survivorship and Mortality of Desert Tortoises in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona. Journal of Herpetology 44 (1): 164–167 - get paper here
  • Ruby, Douglas E.; W. Bryan Jennings, Gilbert Goodlett, James R. Spotila & Henry R. Mushinsky 2023. Experimental Designs for Tortoise Pacing Diversion Structures and Tortoise Guards Along Highway Barriers. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jun 2023 Vol. 22, No. 1: 39-45 - get paper here
  • Schamberger, M.L. & F.B. Turner 1986. The Application of Habitat Modeling to the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Herpetologica 42 (1): 134-138. - get paper here
  • SCOTT, PETER A.; LINDA J. ALLISON, KIMBERLEIGH J. FIELD, ROY C. AVERILL-MURRAY, H. BRADLEY SHAFFER 2020. Individual heterozygosity predicts translocation success in threatened desert tortoises. SCIENCE 370 (6520): 1086-1089 - get paper here
  • Smith, Amanda L., Laura A. Tennant and Terence R. Arundal. 2015. Gopherus agassizii (Agassiz's desert tortoise) mechanical injury. Herpetological Review 46 (3): 423-424 - get paper here
  • Spencely, Ashley, Jeremy Mack and Kristin H. Berry 2015. Gopherus agassizii (Agassiz's desert tortoise) attempted predation. Herpetological Review 46 (3): 422-423 - get paper here
  • Stebbins,R.C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
  • Stejneger, L.H. 1893. Annotated list of the reptiles and batrachians collected by the Death Valley Expedition in 1891, with descriptions of new species. North American Fauna, No. 7: 159-228 (+ 14 plates + 4 maps) - get paper here
  • Swann, D.E. 2006. Drought intensifies in southern Arizona. Sonoran Herpetologist 19 (2):17. - get paper here
  • Taylor, Edward Harrison 1938. Notes on the herpetological fauna of the Mexican state of Sonora. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 24 (19): 475-503 [1936] - get paper here
  • Thomson, Robert C.; Andrew M. Shedlock, Scott V. Edwards and H. Bradley Shaffer 2008. Developing markers for multilocus phylogenetics in non-model organisms: A test case with turtles. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49 (2): 514-525 - get paper here
  • Tollis M, DeNardo DF, Cornelius JA, Dolby GA, Edwards T, Henen BT, et al. 2017. The Agassiz’s desert tortoise genome provides a resource for the conservation of a threatened species. PLoS One 12 (5): e0177708. - get paper here
  • Tracy, C.R. & C.R. Tracy 1995. Estimating Age of Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) from Scute Rings Copeia 1995 (4): 964-966. - get paper here
  • TTWG [Peter Paul van Dijk, John B. Iverson, Anders G.J. Rhodin, H. Bradley Shaffer, and Roger Bour] 2014. Turtles of the World, 7th Edition: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution with Maps, and Conservation Status. 000.v7. Chelonian Research Monographs (ISSN 1088-7105) No. 5, doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014 - get paper here
  • TTWG; Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R., Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van Dijk, P.P. 2021. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Chelonian Research Monographs 8:1–472. doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021. - get paper here
  • Turner, D.S. 2007. Amphibians and reptiles of Sonoita Creek State Natural Area, Arizona. Sonoran Herpetologist 20 (4):38-42. - get paper here
  • Turner, F.B., P. Hayden, B.L. Burge & J.B. Roberson 1986. Egg Production by the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in California Herpetologica 42 (1): 93-104. - get paper here
  • Turner, Frederick B.;Wauer, Roland H. 1963. A survey of the herpetofauna of the Death Valley area. Great Basin Naturalist 23 (3-4): 119-128 - get paper here
  • Van Denburgh, John and Joseph R. Slevin 1913. A list of the amphibians and reptiles of Arizona, with notes on the species in the collection of the Academy. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 3 (13): 391-454 - get paper here
  • Van Devender, T.R., K.B. Moodie & A.H. Harris 1976. The Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizi) in the Pleistocene of the Northern Chihuahuan Desert Herpetologica 32 (3): 298-304. - get paper here
  • Vlachos, E. and Rabi, M. 2018. Total evidence analysis and body size evolution of extant and extinct tortoises (Testudines: Cryptodira: Pan-Testudinidae). Cladistics 34: 652–683, doi:10.1111/cla.12227 - get paper here
  • Walde, A D; Jones, C & Trageser, S 2018. Gopherus agassizii (Mohave Desert Tortoise) Burrow associate. Herpetological Review 49 (2): 318-319 - get paper here
  • Walde, Andrew D. 2014. TSA teams up with the Marines for Desert Tortoise research. Turtle Survival 2014: 55-56 - get paper here
  • WALDE, ANDREW D. & DAVID K. DELANEY. 2021. GOPHERUS AGASSIZII (Mohave Desert Tortoise). BURROW ASSOCIATE. Herpetological Review 52 (3): 629–630. - get paper here
  • Walde, Andrew D., Angela M. Walde and A. Peter Woodman. 2016. Gopherus agassizii (Mojave Desert Tortoise) Burrow associate. Herpetological Review 47 (1): 121-122 - get paper here
  • Walde, Andrew D., Meagan L. Harless, David K. Delaney and Larry L. Pater. 2006. Gopherus agassizii Diet. Herpetological Review 37 (1): 77-78 - get paper here
  • Walde, Andrew D.; Andrea Currylow 2015. Gopherus agassizii (Mojave Desert Tortoise) and Coleonyx variegatus variegatus (Desert Banded Gecko). Spring Burrow Cohabitation. Herpetology Notes 8: 501-502 - get paper here
  • Walde, Andrew D.; Andrea Currylow, Angela M. Walde 2015. Discovery of a new burrow associate of the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), the Long-nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia wislizenii). Herpetology Notes 8: 107-109 - get paper here
  • Walde, Angela M., Andrew D. Walde and Charlie Jones. 2014. Gopherus agassizii (Mohave Desert tortoise) and Crotalus mitchelli (speckled rattlesnake) burrow associate. Herpetological Review 45 (4): 688 - get paper here
  • Wallis, I.R., B.T. Henen & K.A. Nagy 1999. Egg Size and Annual Egg Production by Female Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii): The Importance of Food Abundance, Body Size, and Date of Egg Shelling Journal of Herpetology 33 (3): 394-408. - get paper here
  • Webster, Timothy H.; Greer A. Dolby, Melissa Wilson Sayres, Kenro Kusumi 2017. Improved draft of the Mojave Desert tortoise genome, Gopherus agassizii, version 1.1. PeerJ Preprints - get paper here
  • Weitzman, C.L., F.C. Sandmeier & C.R. Tracy 2017. Prevalence and Diversity of the Upper Respiratory Pathogen Mycoplasma agassizii in Mojave Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) Herpetologica 73 (2): 113-120. - get paper here
  • Werning, Heiko 2012. Die Reptilien und Amphibien des Südwestens. Draco 13 (50): 18-60 - get paper here
  • Wilson, D.S. et al. 2003. Estimating age of turtles from growth rings: a critical evaluation of the technique. Herpetologica 59 (2): 178-194 - get paper here
  • Wilson, D.S., D.J. Morafka, C.R. Tracy & K.A. Nagy 1999. Winter Activity of Juvenile Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Mojave Desert Journal of Herpetology 33 (3): 496-501. - get paper here
  • Winchell, S. 2006. Tortoises of North America - an overview of the genus Gopherus. Reptilia (GB) (49): 9-15 - get paper here
  • Winchell, S. & Love, B. 2006. Die Landschildkröten Nordamerikas. Ein Überblick über die Gattung Gopherus. Reptilia (Münster) 11 (62): 20-27 - get paper here
  • Wirt, B. 2011. Desert Tortoise - Gopherus agassizii. Sonoran Herpetologist 24 (6):56-58. - get paper here
  • Woodbury, Angus Munn;Hardy, Ross 1948. Studies of the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii. Ecological Monographs 18 (2): 146-200 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Gopherus&species=agassizii

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator