THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Testudines    Testudinidae  

Mojave Desert Tortoise
Gopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1861)

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Iverson et al. (2017. Pp. 82–91 in Crother (ed.) Herpetological Circulars (43):1-102) changed the name "Mojave Desert Tortoise" to "Mohave Desert Tortoise to be consistent with the standard English names of several other taxa while recognizing that both names are acceptable (detailed on page 64). With respect to this turtle, "Mojave" is in the greatest usage (e.g., Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2021, Chelonian Research Monographs (8): 1–472)) and the standard English name Mojave Desert Tortoise is retained.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.21.20.38)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.92 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: Arizona California Nevada Utah

First instance(s) of published English names:
Agassiz's Land Tortoise (Xerobates agassizii: Cooper, James G. 1869. The fauna of California and its geographical distribution. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4():61-81); Land Tortoise (Xerobates agassizii: Cooper, James G. 1869. The naturalist in California. The American Naturalist 3(9):470-481); Agassiz's Gopher (Xerobates agassizi: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Western Gopher Turtle (Gopherus agassizi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1861 Cooper, J. G. New Californian animals. Proceedings of the California Academy of Science 2:118-123
1952 Woodbury, Angus M. Hybrids of Gopherus berlandieri and G. agassizii. Herpetologica 8:33-36
1974 Bramble, Dennis M. Occurrence and significance of the Os transiliens in gopher tortoises. Copeia 1974:102-109
1976 Jackson, C. G., Jr., J. J. Trotter, T. H. Trotter, and M. W. Trotter. Accelerated growth rate and early maturation in Gopherus agassizi (Reptilia: Testudines). Herpetologica 32(2):139-145
1976 Van Devender, Thomas R. and A.H. Harris K.B. Moodie. The desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii in the Pleistocene of the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Herpetologica 32(3):298-304
1978 Auffenberg, Walter and Franz, Richard. Gopherus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (211):1-2
1978 Auffenberg, Walter and Franz, Richard. Gopherus agassizii. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (212):1-2
1982 Bramble, Dennis M. Scaptochelys: Generic revision and evolution of gopher tortoises. Copeia 1982(4):852-867
1989 Rainboth, Walter J., Donald G. Buth, and Frederick B. Turner. Allozyme variations in mojave populations of the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii. Copeia 1989(1):115-123
1997 Britten, Hugn B., Brett R. Riddle, Peter F. Brussard, Ron Marlow, and Thomas E. Lee, Jr. Genetic delineation of management units for the Desert Tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, in northeastern Mojave Desert. Copeia 1997(3):523-530
1999 McLuckie, Ann M., Trip Lamb, Cecil R. Schwalbe, and Robert D. McCord. Genetic and morphometric assessment of an unusual tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) population in the Black Mountains of Arizona. Journal of Herpetology 33(1):36-44
2017 Crother, Brian I. (editor) Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Eighth edition. Herpetological Circulars (43):1-102
2021 Rhodin, Anders G. J., John B. Iverson, Roger Bour, Uwe Fritz, Arthur Georges, H. Bradley Shaffer, and Peter Paul van Dijk. Turtles and tortoises of the world during the rise and global spread of humanity: First checklist and review of extinct pleistocene and holocene chelonians. Chelonian Research Monographs (8):1-472

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 19 April 2025 22:16 CT