Wild Florida Photo - Gopherus polyphemus

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Gopherus polyphemus

GOPHER TORTOISE

Florida native

Threatened Florida species
 

The gopher tortoise is the only remaining North American land tortoises in the southeastern United States. There are three other species in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico.
Gopherus polyphemus is threatened by loss of dry upland habitat from development and suppression of the natural cycle of wildfires. Over 360 other animal species utilize the burrows of the gopher tortoise and some, such as the Florida mouse, cannot exist without the tortoise burrow.

 
Gopherus polyphemus is a member of the Testudinidae - Tortoises family.
 

Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida

  Peter Alden
An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the state's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more.

A complete overview of Florida's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns and night sky. An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others. The guide is packed with visual information — the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 14 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as 150 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals. For everyone who lives or spends time in Florida, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida.
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For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Gopher Tortoise Council

Date record last modified:
Aug 29, 2009