Texas tortoise
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Gopherus
Species:	G. berlandieri
Binomial name
Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857)
Synonyms[1]
Xerobates berlandieri Agassiz, 1857 Testudo berlandieri — Strauch, 1862 Xerobates gopher berlandieri — Gray, 1873 Testudo tuberculata Berlandier, 1882 (nomen nudum) Gopherus berlandieri — Stejneger, 1893 Gopherus polyphemus berlandieri — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955 Gopherus berlandierii — Reeves, 1975 (ex errore) Scaptochelys berlandieri — Bramble, 1982 Gopherus berlanderi Rogner, 1996 (ex errore)

The Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), is one of four species of tortoise that are native to North America.

Geographic range[edit]

G. berlandieri is found from southern Texas southward into the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.

Etymology[edit]

The epithet berlandieri is in honor of the Belgian naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier, who worked for the Mexican government on one of the first biological surveys of Texas.^[1] As such, some sources refer to it as Berlandier's tortoise.

Behavior[edit]

The Texas tortoise, unlike other species of gopher tortoise, are not adept burrowers. Its preferred habitat is dry scrub and grasslands. Succulent plants, a preferred food of the Texas tortoise, are common in these areas. They especially like the fruit of cacti such as the prickly pear.

Conservation status[edit]

Though considered an animal of low concern by the IUCN Red List, the Texas tortoise is listed as a threatened species in the state of Texas, and thus protected by state law. It is illegal to collect or possess them.

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

• Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (1996). Gopherus berlandieri. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
• Species Gopherus berlandieri at The Reptile Database

External links[edit]

• Texas Tortoise
• Texas Tortoise care sheet

Tortoise family of turtles (Testudinidae) Genus Species of the tortoise family Aldabrachelys Aldabra giant tortoise Astrochelys Angonoka tortoise Radiated tortoise Chelonoidis Yellow-footed tortoise Chaco tortoise Galápagos tortoise Red-footed tortoise Chersina Angulate tortoise Centrochelys African spurred tortoise Cylindraspis† Domed Mauritius giant tortoise† Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise† Réunion giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise† Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise† Geochelone Burmese star tortoise Indian star tortoise Gopherus Bolson tortoise Desert tortoise Gopher tortoise Sonoran Desert tortoise Texas tortoise Homopus Common padloper Nama padloper Karoo padloper Greater padloper Speckled padloper Indotestudo Elongated tortoise Forsten's tortoise Travancore tortoise Kinixys Bell's hinge-back tortoise Forest hinge-back tortoise Home's hinge-back tortoise Lobatse hinge-back tortoise Natal hinge-back tortoise Speke's hinge-back tortoise Malacochersus Pancake tortoise Manouria Asian forest tortoise Impressed tortoise Psammobates Geometric tortoise Serrated tortoise Tent tortoise Pyxis Flat-backed spider tortoise Spider tortoise Stigmochelys Leopard tortoise Testudo Hermann's tortoise Kleinmann's tortoise Marginated tortoise Russian tortoise Spur-thighed tortoise Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2012 update: annotated checklist. Key: †=extinct.