Gopherus polyphemus1🐢

Photo: Public domain

SpeciesTestudinidae
Reptiles

🐢Gopher tortoise

Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin, 1801)

De gopherschildpad (Gopherus polyphemus) is een schildpad uit de familie landschildpadden (Testudinidae). De soort werd voor het eerst wetenschappelijk beschreven door François Marie Daudin in 1801. Oorspronkelijk werd de wetenschappelijke naam Testudo polyphemus gebruikt. De wetenschappelijke geslachtsnaam en de Nederlandstalige naam zijn afgeleid van het Engelse woord gopher, dat wroeten betekent.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Photos
2
Measurements
10
vs you
≈ 1/11th of your weight
Conservation status
CRCritically endangered

IUCN Red List assessment, 2026.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
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
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Gopher tortoise

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
5.5 kgrecord 10 kg · ReptTraits
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: low

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Maximum lifespan
60 yearsmaximum recorded
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Gestation
90 days
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: low

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Litter size
about 8
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: low

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Diet
Herbivorous
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Activity cycle
Diurnal
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Foraging mode
ACT
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Venomous
No
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Snout–vent length
0.28 mmaximum recorded
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
5.5 Laverage
Details ↓

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.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classTestudines
  4. ›familyTestudinidae
  5. ›genusGopherus
  6. ›speciesGopherus polyphemus
Full lineage
  1. orderTurtles & tortoises · Testudines
  2. superfamilyTestudinoidea
  3. familyTestudinidae
  4. genusGopherus
All 13 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. orderSauria
  9. orderTurtles & tortoises · Testudines
  10. suborderCryptodira
  11. superfamilyTestudinoidea
  12. familyTestudinidae
  13. genusGopherus
More

More about the Gopher tortoise

In other languages
Georgia-Gopherschildkröte (de), Gopherus polyphemus (es), Gophère polyphème (fr), żółw norowy (pl), Гофер-полифем (ru), tortuga gòfer (ca) … and 16 more languages
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