Family: Testudinidae, Tortoises view all from this family

Description 9 1/4-14 1/2" (23.5-36.8 cm). Terrestrial, with domed shell and round, stumpy elephantine hind legs. Front limbs flattened for digging and heavily scaled; all toes webless. Carapace elongated, brown to tan; scutes often light-centered. Bridge well developed; usually 1 axillary scute. Plastron yellowish; adult gular scutes project beyond carapace. Head large and blunt in front, grayish-brown; iris of eye dark brown. Hind feet smaller than front feet. Male plastron concave.

Endangered Status The Gopher Tortoise is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as threatened wherever it is found west of the Mobile and Tombigbee Rivers in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The western population of the Gopher Tortoise is threatened mainly because of the destruction of its habitat, as well as misuse of its habitat (for example some of its habitat in national forest land is used for military operations). Tortoise populations are slow to recover from population losses because the females do not breed until they are 15 to 20 years old, and young tortoises are vulnerable to predators and other hazards.

Breeding Mates in spring; nests late April to mid-July. Lays 2-7 brittle, spherical eggs in cavity 5" (13 cm) deep, occasionally at mouth of burrow. Hatching occurs August to September.

Habitat Well-drained sandy areas between grasslands and forests.

Range Coastal plain from s. South Carolina to Florida and west to extreme e. Louisiana.

Discussion A most adept digger, it makes unusually long burrows; a record one was 47 1/2' (14.5 m) long, straight, unbranched, and ended in an enlarged chamber. The burrow serves as a shelter, where temperature and humidity remain relatively unchanged. Often other animals share the burrow - including small mammals, burrowing owls, snakes, gopher frogs, toads, and assorted invertebrates. On cool days, Gopher Tortoises bask at the burrow entrance before foraging for grasses and leaves.