Sonoran Desert Tortoise
Gopherus morafkai
The Sonoran Dessert Tortoise is a big land tortoise with a shell measuring 15 inches. Its carapace shaped like a dome is marked by growth rings. Its color ranges from ora…
How to identify
The Sonoran Dessert Tortoise is a big land tortoise with a shell measuring 15 inches. Its carapace shaped like a dome is marked by growth rings. Its color ranges from orange-brown, dark gray, grayish brown and almost black. Its underbelly is yellow or tan and it has a short tail. Its limbs are stocky, round and short. Its forelimbs are flat and well adapted for digging. They are armored with large thick scales and longer than the back limbs. Its head is rounded and small. An extended gular shield from the plastron distinguishes the males from the females.
Range
They occur along the southwestern border of the Colorado River and at elevations ranging from sea level to 5000' across the state of Arizona.
Habitat
It inhabits mountain slopes, hillsides, canyons and other rugged uplands. It is entirely terrestrial, shelters and hibernates in burrows it dug with its forelimbs or naturally occurring openings under rocks. They are diurnal and crepuscular. When threatened it hides its head and body in its shell covering the opening with its forelimbs. They are herbivores feeding on herbs, grasses, tree shoots cacti and other available plant materials. They are oviparous, mating between June and August and lay a clutch of about 12 eggs which are buried in a burrow a year later.
Similar species
The Agassiz's desert tortoise or Gopherus agassizii is a large terrestrial tortoise with a shell about 15 inches long. Its dome-shaped carapace ranges from orange-brown, dark gray, grayish brown and almost black. It has a longer gular shield and a wider shell than Sonoran Desert Tortoise. The gopher tortoise or Gopherus Polyphemus has a carapace that grows between 6 to 9 inches. Its shell color ranges from dark brown to gray-black with bright yellow on the bottom shell or plastron. The Texas tortoise or Gopherus berlandieri is the smallest species of the gopher tortoise. It has yellowish-orange scutes on its carapace.
Name and etymology
Morafkai: Honoring David Joseph Morafka.
At a glance
Range
They occur along the southwestern border of the Colorado River and at elevations ranging from sea level to 5000' across the s…
Habitat
It inhabits mountain slopes, hillsides, canyons and other rugged uplands. It is entirely terrestrial, shelters and hibernates…
Guide
Reptiles and Amphibians of North America
Range map
Approximate range. © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap