Gopherus morafkai
—
Sonoran Desert Tortoise
Also known as:
Morafka’s Desert Tortoise
Genetic analysis led to this species being split from Gopherus agassizii in 2011.
All of the Sonoran Desert Tortoises that I've ever seen have been shown to me by my friend Roger Repp (Herp King of Southern Arizona, where the turtles are strong, the snakes are handsome, and the lizards are all above average). That includes one from 2000, which Roger found at night deep in a crevice and which I didn't even bother to try to photograph. At that time it would have been considered Gopherus agassizii. These two are the only others I've seen. The first one was sensibly ensconced in a relatively cool crevice, but we were surprised to discover the second one wandering about on a hot dry August morning.
Printed references:
- Brennan, T. C. and Holycross, A. T. 2006. A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles in Arizona
- Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2017. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, Eighth Edition
- Ernst, C. H., Barbour, R. W. 1989. Turtles of the World
- Ernst, C. H., and Lovich, J. E. 2009. Turtles of the United States and Canada, Second Edition
- Stebbins, R. C. 2003. Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition