Sonoran Desert Tortoise

• Scientific Name: Gopherus Agassizii
• Common Name: Desert Tortoise
• Description: Identification: 8 - 15 in. (20.3-38.1 cm). A high-domed shell, usually with prominent growth lines on shields of both carapace and plastron. Carapace brown, gray, or horn colored, usually without definite pattern. Plastron yellowish or brownish without a hinge. Forelimbs covered with large conical scales, when drawn in, limbs block openings of shell. Limbs stocky. Tail short. Young: Flexible shell. Nails longer and sharper than in adult. Carapace dull yellow to light brown; shields usually with dark borders. Male: Gular shields longer than in female, and lump (chin gland) on each side of lower jaw larger.
• References: Excerpts from A FIELD GUIDE TO WESTERN REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS, 3/e by Robert C. Stebbins. Copyright (c) 2003 by Robert C. Stebbins. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
• Diet: herbivore
• Size: 9" to 15"