🐢Gopher tortoise
The gopher tortoise is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide shelter for at least 360 other animal species. G. polyphemus is threatened by predation and habitat destruction. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the gopher tortoise as "vulnerable", primarily because of habitat fragmentation and loss, and human exploitation; the animals are considered threatened in some states, while they are endangered in others.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2026.
- Body mass
- 5.5 kg
- Body length
- not recorded
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 60 years
Everything we know about the Gopher tortoise
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass5.5 kgrecord 10 kg · ReptTraitsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: low
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Maximum lifespan60 yearsmaximum recordedReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Gestation90 daysAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: low
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Litter sizeabout 8AnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: low
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
DietHerbivorousReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleDiurnalReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Foraging modeACTReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
VenomousNoReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Snout–vent length0.28 mmaximum recordedReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l5.5 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Gopher tortoise yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classTestudines
- ›familyTestudinidae
- ›genusGopherus
- ›speciesGopherus polyphemus
- orderTurtles & tortoises · Testudines
- superfamilyTestudinoidea
- familyTestudinidae
- genusGopherus
All 13 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- orderSauria
- orderTurtles & tortoises · Testudines
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyTestudinoidea
- familyTestudinidae
- genusGopherus
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