Skip to main content

Agassiz's Desert Tortoise

Gopherus agassizii
Today's animal gets its name from 19th century Swiss-American naturalist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, and it can be found in the desert areas of the Southwest United States (they are even the state reptiles of both California and Nevada). They can actually live in incredibly hot areas that reach over 140 degrees F, due to their ability to burrow underground to escape the extreme heat.

Agassiz's Desert Tortoises measure about 14in long, and males are slightly larger than females. Interestingly,t he two sexes also have slightly different shell shapes. Males have inward curved at the rear of the carapace, while females have outward curves. This is so that the males can stand upright against the female in order to successfully mate. Males will also fight each other during each breeding season in order to establish reproductive rights, and the Tortoises will have numerous different mates over their 30 to 50 years of life.

Sadly, these Tortoises are listed as Vulnerable (partially) because of decline caused by human activities. Military, agricultural, and urban development have all caused a loss in habitat. Development has not just taken up their habitat, but it has introduced excess predators. Ravens are major predators of Desert Tortoise eggs and hatchlings, and there are more of these birds around due to human land development.

There area number of illnesses that have also affected these Tortoises. Upper respiratory tract disease has been plaguing the population since the 1970s, and  is a chronic, infectious condition. Furthermore, a shell disease called Cutaneous dyskeratosis is also found in the population.
IUCN Status : Vulnerable
Location : Southwest United States
Size : Length up to 14in (36cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Sauropsida -- Order : Testudines
Family : Testudinidae -- Genus : Gopherus -- Species : G. agassizii

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more

Banggai Cardinalfish

Pterapogon kauderni The Banggai Cardinalfish is a small tropical fish that is becoming very rare in the wild, even though it has been successfully bred in captivity. You will only find these small, 3in long fish around the Banggai Islands of Indonesia. They are the only members of their genus, and you can tell them apart from other Cardinalfish by their three-striped bodies, tasseled first dorsal fin, long second dorsal, and their deep-forked tail fins. Banggai Cardinalfish are diurnal and live in small groups of about a dozen members. They are opportunistic feeders who dine on whatever smaller plants and animals they can find. Courtship and mating is pretty interesting for these guys-- females are the ones who initiate. They isolate a male and the pair will perform various courtship rituals before spawning. The Cardinalfish are mouthbrooders, which means that the males take the fertilized eggs (up to 90 of them) into their mouths and incubate them for up to 30 days. During t...
37 comments
Read more