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Texas tortoise

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Texas tortoise
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Testudinidae
Genus: Gopherus
Species:
G. berlandieri
Binomial name
Gopherus berlandieri
(Agassiz, 1857)
Synonyms[3]
  • 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 [sic]
    Reeves, 1975 (ex errore)
  • Scaptochelys berlandieri
    — Bramble, 1982
  • Gopherus berlanderi [sic]
    Rogner, 1996 (ex errore)

The Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species G. berlandieri is one of six species of tortoises that are native to North America.

Geographic range

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G. berlandieri (Texas Tortoise) is found in the southern third of Texas (roughly parallel to Houston) southward into the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Within its range, it inhabits semi-arid regions characterized by mesquite shrub and cactus dominated landscapes.

Etymology

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The specific epithet, berlandieri, is in honor of naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier, who worked for the Mexican government on one of the first biological surveys of Texas.[1][4] As such, some sources refer to it as Berlandier's tortoise.[4][5]

Biology

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The Texas tortoise, unlike other species of gopher tortoise, is not an adept burrower. It uses the thick vegetation for cover and thermoregulation.[6] Succulent plants, a preferred food of the Texas tortoise, are common in these areas. It especially likes the fruit of cacti such as the prickly pear. The Texas Tortoise is oviparous. Female clutch sizes typically range anywhere from 1 to 5 eggs. The success of these clutches dramatically rely climatic conditions and habitat quality. A major ecological role Texas Tortoises play is in the dispersal of seeds throughout its range. By consuming fruit and excreting its seeds, the Texas Tortoise plays a pivotal role in the structure of the plant community that the tortoise inhabits. Study on this species population genetics suggest limited gene flow and potential regional isolation.[7] Population studies using mark-recapture methods have shown low dispersal rate and a somewhat limited contiguous home range. The Texas Tortoise is threatened by fragmentation, habitat loss, and illegal collection/trade.[8]

Conservation status

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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. The Mexican federal government lists Gopherus berlandieri as A (= Threatened) in Mexico.[9] Likewise, using Environmental Vulnerability Scores, Gopherus berlandieri scored 18, a high vulnerability species on a scale of 0–20, in evaluations of both Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon herpetofauna.[10][11] In 2018, the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group recommended a re-assessment and re-classification of all six Gopherus species.[12] This reclassification would move G. berlandieri from Near Endangered (NE) to Near Threatened (NT).[12]

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  • Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), Val Verde Co, Texas, USA (2005).
    Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), Val Verde Co, Texas, USA (2005).
  • Gopherus berlandieri, Bee Co. Texas, USA (June 2011).
    Gopherus berlandieri, Bee Co. Texas, USA (June 2011).
  • Gopherus berlandieri, Bee Co. Texas, USA (2011).
    Gopherus berlandieri, Bee Co. Texas, USA (2011).
  • Elongated gular scutes of male, Bee Co. Texas, USA (2011).
    Elongated gular scutes of male, Bee Co. Texas, USA (2011).
  • Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), northern Tamaulipas, Mexico (2007).
    Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), northern Tamaulipas, Mexico (2007).
  • Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), Bee Co. Texas, USA (2023).
    Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), Bee Co. Texas, USA (2023).
  1. ^ Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (1996). "Gopherus berlandieri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T9401A12983179. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T9401A12983179.en. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Appendices". CITES. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.. Note: Protected as a member of the Testudinidae.
  3. ^ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 280–281. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. ISSN 1864-5755.
  4. ^ a b Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Berlandier's Tortoise Gopherus berlandieri ", p. 24).
  5. ^ Bour, Roger (2016). "Where and when was Jean Louis Berlandier born? Notes on Jean Louis Berlandier. I.". Bibliotheca Herpetologica 12 (1 & 2): 18–40.
  6. ^ Kazmaier, Richard T.; Hellgren, Eric C.; Ruthven, Donald C. (2001). "Habitat Selection by the Texas Tortoise in a Managed Thornscrub Ecosystem". The Journal of Wildlife Management. 65 (4): 653–660. doi:10.2307/3803016. ISSN 0022-541X.
  7. ^ Fujii, Akiko; Forstner, Michael R. J. (June 2010). "Genetic Variation and Population Structure of the Texas Tortoise, Gopherus berlandieri (Testudinidae), with Implications for Conservation". Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 9 (1): 61–69. doi:10.2744/ccb-0786.1. ISSN 1071-8443.
  8. ^ Kazmaier, Richard T.; Hellgren, Eric C.; Synatzske, David R.; Rutledge, Jaime C. (2001). "Mark-Recapture Analysis of Population Parameters in a Texas Tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri) Population in Southern Texas". Journal of Herpetology. 35 (3): 410–417. doi:10.2307/1565959. ISSN 0022-1511.
  9. ^ Official Mexican STANDARD NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, Environmental Protection-Native species of Mexico of wild flora and fauna-Risk categories and specifications for inclusion, exclusion or change-List of species at risk. STANDARD NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 PDF
  10. ^ Terán-Juárez, S. A., E. García-Padilla, V. Mata-Silva, J. D. Johnson, and L. D. Wilson (2016). "The herpetofauna of Tamaulipas, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation". Mesoamerican Herpetology 3: 43–113.
  11. ^ Nevárez-de los Reyes, M., D. Lazcano, E. García-Padilla, V. Mata-Silva, J. D. Johnson, and L. D. Wilson (2016). "The herpetofauna of Nuevo León, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation". Mesoamerican Herpetology 3: 558–638.
  12. ^ a b Rhodin, Anders G. J.; Stanford, Craig B.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Eisemberg, Carla; Luiselli, Luca; Mittermeier, Russell A.; Hudson, Rick; Horne, Brian D.; Goode, Eric V.; Kuchling, Gerald; Walde, Andrew (December 2018). "Global Conservation Status of Turtles and Tortoises (Order Testudines)". Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 17 (2): 135–161. doi:10.2744/CCB-1348.1. ISSN 1071-8443. S2CID 91937716.

References

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