Gopherus flavomarginatus

Order Testudinata / Family Testudinidae
Gopherus flavomarginatus
APPENDIX I
(Legler, 1959)
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Common names:
engl.:
esp.:
fr.:
de.:
Scientific synonyms:
Yellow Borded Tortoise, Mexican Giant Gopher, Great Yellow Mexican Tortoise, Bolson
Tortoise
Tortuga grande, Tortuga llanero, Tortuga terrestre mexicana
Tortue à bords jaunes, Gophère à bords jaunes
Gelbrand-Gopherschildkröte, Mexikanische Gopherschildkröte
Gopherus polyphemus flavomarginatus Wermuth and Mertens, 1961
Characteristics
Adult:
Carapace:
Flat-topped, posteriorly flared.
Plastron:
Gular relatively large, but
not forked.
Nuchal shield:
Present.
Supracaudal shield:
Undivided.
Colour:
Carapace pale yellow, with
dark rectangular markings
on the areolae and on the
marginal shields.
Head:
Relatively wide.
Extremities:
There is a pair of spurs on
each thigh.
Juvenile:
Growth rings sometimes
conspicuous. Considerably
orange or yellow on
plastron and marginals; skin
light orange or yellow.
Distribution:
Mexico: Northern Durango,
Western Coahuila, northeastern Chihuahua.
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Code A-301.011.004.003
1980 (1)
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Population:
Wild population:
Indeterminate. Thought to be declining.
Captive population:
Very few specimens, probably not more than 100-200.
Trade:
No data available.
Intraspecific variation:
None.
Similar species:
Bibliography:
Legler, J.M. (1959) A new tortoise, genus Gopherus, from North-Central Mexico. Univ. Kansas
Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 11,5: 335-343.
Morofka, D.J. (in press) The ecology and conservation of the Bolson tortoise, Gopherus
flavomarginatus in North American Tortoises. R.B. Bury, editor. Spec. Publ. of U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Services.
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Text: René E. Honegger, Zurich
Drawing: Urs Woy, Zurich
Submitted by the Management Authority of Switzerland