Gopherus Rafinesque 1832

Gopherus és l'únic gènere de tortuga de terra de la família Testudinidae d'Amèrica del Nord. Són natives del sud dels Estats Units i del nord de Mèxic. Es caracteritzen per la seva habilitat per cavar caus grans i molt profunds, dels quals surten per alimentar-se de vegetals, a l'alba i al capvespre.

Es reconeixen quatre espècies del gènere Gopherus:

• Tortuga gòfer (Excavadora de Florida): Gopherus polyphemus ( Daudin, 1802).
• Tortuga del desert, de Califòrnia: Gopherus agassizii ( Cooper, 1863).
• Tortuga de Texas: Gopherus berlandieri ( Agassiz, 1857).
• Excavadora mexicana o tortuga de Mapimí: Gopherus flavomarginatus ( Legler, 1959).

Alimentació

Les tortugues gòfers són principalment herbívores, ja que s'alimenten de plantes. La seva dieta consisteix principalment de gramínies i lleguminoses. Les tortugues gòfers són carronyaires i s'alimenten de petites baies, fruits, carronya i excrement. són rarament vistes bevent aigua. La majoria consumeixen aigua dins dels aliments que consumeixen.

Reproducció

La tortuga del desert (Gopherus agassizii) sol aparellar-se durant els mesos d'abril i maig. La femella llavors triar un lloc assolellat, proper o un monticle de sorra davant del seu cau per a posar entre 3 i 15 ous. Els ous maduren 70-100 dies més tard. Un cop nascudes les tortugues passen la major part del seu temps en el cau de la seva mare fins que aprenguin a cavar pel propi compte. No arriben a la maduresa fins que són al voltant de 10 a 15 anys. tortugues Gopher té una temporada d'aparellament abreujat a principis de primavera, quan les tortugues mascle visita caus la tortuga femella i aparellar-se amb elles.

Galeria

• Cau de tortuga excavadora

• Excavadora de Florida, la Tortuga gòfer (Gopherus polyphemus)

• Tortuga de Texas, Gopherus berlandieri

• Tortuga del desert (Califòrnia), Gopherus agassizii

• Tortuga acabada de descloure.

Enllaços externs

• Tortuga de Mapimí
• Gopher Tortoise Council
• The Gopher Tortoise Organization

Kalifornische Gopherschildkröte

Die Gopherschildkröten (Gopherus) sind eine Schildkrötengattung aus der Familie der Landschildkröten. Ihr Verbreitungsgebiet ist auf das Südliche Nordamerika begrenzt. Nach neuen genetischen Untersuchungen ist die nächstverwandte Gattung die in Asien vorkommende Gattung der Asiatischen Waldschildkröten (Manouria).^[1]

Erscheinungsbild

Ausgewachsene Gopherschildkröten erreichen eine Carapaxlänge von bis zu 40 Zentimeter und können bis etwa vier Kilogramm wiegen. Ihre Vorderbeine sind abgeflacht und stark beschuppt, was das Graben im Boden erleichtert.

Verbreitungsgebiet und Lebensraum

Die Gopherschildkröten sind in ihrem Verbreitungsgebiet auf den Süden Nordamerikas begrenzt. Sie kommen in den USA von der kalifornischen Mojave-Wüste bis nach Florida sowie im nördlichen Teil Mexikos vor. Die erst 1959 wissenschaftlich beschriebene Gelbrand-Gopherschildkröte ist in ihrer Verbreitung sogar auf das kleine Areal der Chihuahua-Wüste im mexikanischen Bundesstaat Durango begrenzt.

Ihr Lebensraum sind Trockengebiete und Randgebiete von Wüsten. An die hohen Temperaturen ihres Lebensraums haben sie sich durch mehrere Strategien angepasst. Sie sind dämmerungsaktiv und sie sind in der Lage, Baue zu graben, die eine Länge bis zu 12 Metern und eine Tiefe von bis zu 3 Metern erreichen.^[2] In diesen Bauen verbringen sie den größten Teil des Tages. Tiefe und Länge des Baus sind abhängig von Temperaturen, die in ihrem Lebensraum vorkommen.^[3] Außerdem werden diese Baue auch von einer Reihe anderer Tierarten als Wohnhöhle genutzt. Aus diesem Grund spielen Gopherschildkröten eine große Rolle in ihrem jeweiligen Ökosystem.

Lebensweise

Gopherschildkröten fressen überwiegend pflanzliche Nahrung. Dazu zählt Gras und Hülsenfrüchte.^[4] Zu ihren Nahrungspflanzen zählen außerdem kleine Beeren, Früchte. Sie fressen außerdem Aas sowie die Exkremente von Säugetieren. Gopherschildkröten trinken nur selten. Das von ihnen benötigte Wasser nehmen sie überwiegend über ihre Nahrung auf. Die Paarungszeit der Gopherschildkröten fällt in den Zeitraum April bis Mai. Ein Gelege umfasst in der Regel zwischen drei und fünfzehn Eier. Der Zeitraum, der bis zum Schlupf der Jungtiere vergeht, beträgt zwischen 70 und 100 Tagen und ist unter anderem von der Umgebungstemperatur abhängig. Die Geschlechtsreife erreichen die Tiere in einem Lebensalter von zehn bis fünfzehn Jahren.^[5]

Bestand

Gopherschildkröten sind in ihrem Verbreitungsgebiet streng geschützt, weil sie als bedrohte Tierart gelten. Wesentliche Ursache der Bedrohung ist ein Verlust an Lebensraum. Diese Schildkrötengattung spielt auch aus diesem Grund kaum eine Rolle in der Terrarienhaltung.

Arten

Zu der Gattung werden 6 Arten gerechnet:

• Kalifornische Gopherschildkröte (Gopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1863))
• Texas-Gopherschildkröte (Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857))
• Gopherus evgoodei Edwards, Karl, Vaughn, Rosen, Meléndez-Torres & Murphy, 2016
• Gelbrand-Gopherschildkröte (Gopherus flavomarginatus Legler, 1959)
• Sonora-Gopherschildkröte (Gopherus morafkai Murphy, Berry, Edwards, Leviton, Lathrop & Riedle, 2011)
• Georgia-Gopherschildkröte (Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin, 1802))

Nachweise

Einzelnachweise

1. ↑ M. Le, C. J. Raxworthy, W. P. McCord, L. Mertz: A molecular phylogeny of tortoises (Testudines: Testudinidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Band 40, 5. Mai 2006, S. 517–531, doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.03.003.
2. ↑ Gopher Tortoise Council
3. ↑ Rogner, S. 84.
4. ↑ The Gopher Tortoise Organization
5. ↑ uga.edu (Memento des Originals vom 9. Oktober 2007 im Internet Archive) Info: Der Archivlink wurde automatisch eingesetzt und noch nicht geprüft. Bitte prüfe Original- und Archivlink gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis.@1@2Vorlage:Webachiv/IABot/www.uga.edu

Literatur

• Manfred Rogner: Schildkröten – Biologie, Haltung, Vermehrung. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5440-1.

Weblinks

– Sammlung von Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien

• Gopherus In: The Reptile Database

Gopherus polyphemus.

Гоферлер (лат. Gopherus) — ташпакалардын бир уруусу.

Колдонулган адабияттар

• А. А. Алдашев. Биология терминдеринин жана айбанат аттарынын орусча-кыргызча сөздүгү. - Бишкек, 1998. ISBN 9967-11-027-9

Gopherus is a genus of fossorial tortoises commonly referred to as gopher tortoises. The gopher tortoise is grouped with land tortoises that originated 60 million years ago, in North America. A genetic study has shown that their closest relatives are in the Asian genus Manouria.^[1] The gopher tortoises live in the southern United States from California's Mojave Desert across to Florida, and in parts of northern Mexico. Gopher tortoises are so named because of some species' habit of digging large, deep burrows (gophers are small terrestrial burrowing rodents). Most notably, Gopherus polyphemus digs burrows which can be up to 40 feet (12 m) in length and 10 feet (3.0 m) in depth.^[2] These burrows are used by a variety of other species, including mammals, other reptiles, amphibians, and birds.^[3] Gopher tortoises are 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 in) in length, depending on the species.^[4] All six species are found in xeric habitats. Numerous extinct species are known, the oldest dating to the Priabonian stage of the Late Eocene of the United States.^[5]

Species

In July 2011, researchers decided on the basis of DNA, and morphological and behavioral data that the Sonoran and Mojave populations of the desert tortoise, G. agassizii were distinct species.^[6] This newly described species was named G. morafkai, or the Morafka's desert tortoise. The acceptance of G. morafkai reduced the range of G. agassizii by about 70%^[7] In 2016, based on a large-scale genetic analysis, ecological and morphological data, researchers proposed a split between the Sonoran and Sinaloan populations.^[8] This southernmost member of the Gopherus genus was named G. evgoodei.^[8] As such, there are currently six recognized species in the genus Gopherus:

Extant

Listed alphabetically by binomial name:^[9]

Geographic distribution of the North American tortoises of the genus Gopherus

Fossil

Members of Gopherus that became extinct in the late Pleistocene:

• †Gopherus donlaloi (Reynoso and Montellano-Ballesteros, 2004)^[12][13][14]
• †Gopherus depressus^[15]
• †Gopherus hexagonatus (Cope, 1893) Late Pliocene-Late Pleistocene, large sized species, with carapaces over a metre (3.3 ft) in length.^[16]

Breeding

Gopher tortoises usually mate during April and May. The female will then choose either a sunny spot nearby or a sandy mound in front of her burrow to lay between 3 and 15 eggs. The eggs then hatch from 70 to 100 days later. Once hatched, the baby tortoises spend most of their time in their mother's burrow until they learn to dig their own burrow. They do not reach maturity until they are around 10 to 15 years old. Gopher tortoises have an abbreviated mating season in early spring, when male tortoises visit the female tortoise' burrows and mate with them.^[17]

Diet

Gopher tortoises are mainly herbivores that feed on low growing plant life. Their diet consists mostly of grasses and legumes but they will also feed on small berries and fruits.

Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) drinking from roadway in Joshua Tree National Park

The diet of tortoises contain excess salt, sodium, chloride, and potassium that must be purged from the body, and drinking free standing water, even if only once or a few times each year, is essential for this function and for tortoise survival. Opportunities for gopher tortoises to drink water vary greatly between the species in the genus. Gopherus agassizii live in extremely arid areas that can receive as little as 10–20 cm. per year. Gopherus polyphemus live in mesic habitat, where water is availability and evaporative loss is less problematic. Other species live in intermediate environments where a few weeks of rain typically occur twice per year, or where relatively consistent summer rains occur. When pools of rain water or saturated soils are available tortoises will direct their heads face down and submerge their face to a level just below the eyes and drink copiously. Reptiles modify urine and plasma concentrations in their bodies with their bladder, cloaca, and colon, rather than the kidneys. The bladder plays a major function in regulating blood osmolality: permeable to ammonia, urea, water, and small ions, but not uric acid. This permeability allows tortoises that are hibernating, or living in arid environments without drinking water for months at a time to store uric acid, but resorb water from the bladder. Tortoises react to dry periods by retreating to shelters (burrows, caves etc.) with more humid microhabitats, and remaining inactive. Gopher tortoises can survive a year of drought through both behavior and physiological adaptations, two years of drought can result in deteriorating body conditions, and extended years of drought will produce high mortalities of gopher tortoises.^{[18]: 85–87, 94 pp.}

There are many observations of Gopherus eating non-vegetation food items. Documented examples include a variety of bones, snail shells, soil at mineral licks, charcoal, sand, stones, human trash, carrion, raptor pellets and various animals feces. Gopherus polyphemus studies observed specimens moving bones into their burrows and found the fourth most common matter in their scats was insect material. The exact reasons are not entirely understood, some cases might simply be due to accidentally ingesting materials near food items or sampling potential foods. Hypotheses concerning the consumption of animal matter by Gopherus include supplements for the low levels of calcium, phosphorus, or protein in their diet, and a need for calcium carbonate in bones, the production of eggshells in females, and growing young. Hypotheses on the consumption of nonfood items such as soil or rocks include mastication or vermifuge for the removal of parasites.^{[18]: 93 p.}

Conservation

Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), northern Tamaulipas, Mexico

Populations of all six species of Gopherus have declined dramatically. In the past, gopher tortoises were hunted for their meat, which was used in stews.^[19] Currently the most significant threat to their survival is habitat destruction, but the pet trade and collisions with vehicles have also taken their toll.^[4] To help decrease gopher tortoise death due to collisions with vehicles, the US Department of Transportation in Mississippi has recently placed angled fences along the road side to keep tortoise from wandering onto the highways near their habitats.^[20] On November 9, 2009, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed rulemaking to include the eastern population of the gopher tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, in the List of Threatened Wildlife.^[21] In 2018, the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group recommended a re-assessment and re-classification of all six Gopherus species^[22] This reclassification would move G. agassizii from Vulnerable (VU) to Critically Endangered (CR), G. berlandieri from Near Endangered (NE) to Near Threatened (NT), G. evgoodei from Near Endangered (NE) to Vulnerable (VU), G. flavomarginatus from Vulnerable (VU) to Critically Endangered (CR), G. morafkai from Near Endangered (NE) to Vulnerable (VU) and G. polyphemus from Vulnerable (VU) to Endangered (EN).^[22]

Gallery

• 

  A juvenile bolson tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus), from Durango, Mexico (7 July 2006)

• 

  Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) San Bernardino County, California, US.

• 

  Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) from Lee County, Florida (18 June 2018)

• 

  Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) from Volusia County, Florida (14 September 2008)

References

Bibliography

• Woodburne, M. O.; Golz, D. J. (1972). Stratigraphy of the Punchbowl Formation, Cajon Valley, southern California. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences. Vol. 92.

Gopherus es el único género de tortugas de tierra de la familia Testudinidae de Norteamérica. Son nativas del sur de Estados Unidos y del norte de México. Se caracterizan por su habilidad para cavar madrigueras grandes y muy profundas, de las cuales salen para alimentarse de vegetales, al amanecer y al atardecer.

En julio de 2011, los investigadores decidieron sobre la base de ADN y los datos de comportamiento que las poblaciones del Desierto de Sonora y del Desierto de Mojave eran especies distintas. En 2016 se volvieron a dar ajustes la taxonomía de estas especies, debido a las diferencias sustanciales (tanto morfológicas, ecológicas y moleculares) entre dos linajes (Sonora y Sinaloa) de Gopherus morafkai, por lo que a la población sureña fue descrita con el nombre de Gopherus evgoodei, esto en honor al empresario y conservacionista Eric Goode, fundador de la asociación Turtle Conservancy.

Se reconocen seis especies del género Gopherus:

• Tortuga de Matorral de Sinaloa: Gopherus evgoodei (Edwards et al., 2016).^[1]​
• Tortuga del Desierto de Sonora: Gopherus morafkai (Murphy et al., 2011).^[2]​
• Tortuga del Desierto de Mojave: Gopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1863).
• Tortuga de Texas: Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857).
• Tortuga Excavadora mexicana o tortuga del Bolsón de Mapimí: Gopherus flavomarginatus (Legler, 1959).
• Tortuga Excavadora de Florida: Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin, 1802).

Galería

• Madriguera de tortuga excavadora.

• Tortuga Excavadora de Florida (Gopherus polyphemus).

• Tortuga del Desierto de Mojave (Gopherus agassizii).

• Tortuga del Desierto de Sonora (Gopherus morafkai).

• Tortuga de Matorral de Sinaloa (Gopherus evgoodei).

• Tortuga de Texas o Galapago Tamaulipeco (Gopherus berlandieri).

• Tortuga del Bolsón de Mapimi (Gopherus flavomarginatus).

Bibliografía

Gopherus Testudinidae familiako narrasti genero bat da. Ameriketako Estatu Batuetan eta Mexikon bizi dira.

Espezieak

• Gopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1861)
• Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857)
• Gopherus flavomarginatus Legler, 1959
• Gopherus morafkai Murphy, Berry, Edwards, Leviton, Lathrop & Riedle, 2011
• Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin, 1801)

Gopherus est un genre de tortues de la famille des Testudinidae^[1].

Répartition

Les six espèces de ce genre se rencontrent aux États-Unis et au Mexique^[1].

Liste des espèces

Selon TFTSG (23 novembre 2012)^[2] :

• Gopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1861) — Gophère d'Agassiz ou Tortue du désert
• Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857) — Gophère du Texas
• Gopherus evgoodei Edwards, Karl, Vaughn, Rosen, Meléndez-Torres & Murphy, 2016
• Gopherus flavomarginatus Legler, 1959 — Gophère à bords jaunes ou Tortue fouisseuse du Mexique
• Gopherus morafkai Murphy, Berry, Edwards, Leviton, Lathrop & Riedle, 2011
• Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin, 1801) — Gophère polyphème ou Tortue gaufrée

Étymologie

Nid de Gophère

Elles sont nommées Gopherus à cause des trous larges et profonds qu'elles creusent et qui sont utiles à bon nombre d'espèces et par conséquent utiles à l'écosystème. En effet gopher désigne en anglais les gaufres, rongeurs connus pour creuser de vastes terriers pouvant ravager les jardins.

• Gopherus polyphemus en Floride

• Gopherus flavomarginatus du Mexique

• Gopherus berlandieri au Texas

• Gopherus agassizii dans le désert de Californie

Publication originale

• Rafinesque, 1832 : Description of two new genera of soft shell turtles of North America. Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge, vol. 1, p. 64–65 (texte intégral).

Notes et références

Gopherus ialah genus kura-kura dari keluarga Testudinidae yang juga dipanggil Kura-kura Gofer. Kura-kura ini wujud lebih 60 juta tahun dahulu di Utara Amerika. Kajian genetik menunjukkan ia mempunyai hubungan dengan genus Manouria, iaitu kura-kura dari Asia.^[1]

Kura-kura ini mendiami Selatan Amerika Syarikat daripada Padang pasir Mojave di California hinggalah Florida, dan sebahagian utara Mexico. Haiwan ini mempunyai kebolehan menggali lubang, sehingga 40 kaki (12 m) panjang dan 10 kaki (3.0 m) dalam.^[2] Lubang-lubang ini sering digunakan haiwan lain, termasuklah mamalia, reptilia, amfibia, dan burung.^[3] Panjang kura-kura ini biasanya 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 in), bergantung kepada spesies.^[4] Kesemua spesies ini boleh dijumpai di habitat gersang.

Pemakanan

Haiwan ini bersifat maun. Dietnya merangkumi tumbuh-tumbuhan seperti rumput dan legum. Kadang-kadang ia juga mencari beri dan buah-buahan, sebagai makanan. Mereka jarang minum air dan kebanyakan sumber air diperoleh daripada tumbuh-tumbuhan yang dimakan.

Pembiakan

Kura-kura ini biasanya mengawan dalam bulan April dan Mei. Betina akan memilih kawasan panas, atau timbunan tanah berhampiran habitat lubang yang digali dan menghasilkan 3 hingga 15 telur. Telur-telur ini akan menetas dari 70 hingga 100 hari kemudian. Tatkala menetas, anak kura-kura akan menghabiskan masa di dalam lubang yang digali induknya sehingga ia mampu menggali lubang sendiri. Ia mencapai kematangan sekitar 10 hingga 15 tahun. Musim mengawan kura-kura ini biasanya bermula awal musim bunga, apabila kura-kura jantan mendatangi betina.^[5]

Spesies

Pada bulan Julai 2011, Pengkaji kura-kura mencadangkan pengasingan dua spesies dari Sonoran dan Mojave berdasarakan kajian DNA.^[6] Sehingga kini, enam spesies telah disahkan dalam genus Gopherus:

Susunan berdasarkan nama binomial.^[7]

• Gopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1863) — Mojave desert tortoise atau Agassiz's desert tortoise
• Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857) — Texas tortoise
• Gopherus evgoodei (Edwards et al., 2016)^[8] — Sinaloan desert tortoise atau Goode's desert tortoise
• Gopherus flavomarginatus (Legler, 1959) — Bolson tortoise
• Gopherus morafkai (Murphy et al., 2011)^[6] — Sonoran desert tortoise atau Morafka’s desert tortoise
• Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin, 1802) — Gopher tortoise

Spesies Gopherus yang pupus pada era akhir Pleistocene:

• Gopherus donlaloi (Reynoso and Montellano-Ballesteros, 2004)^[9][10][11]

Galeri

• Gopherus agassizii

• Gopherus berlandieri

• Anak Kura-kura Gofer

• Gopherus flavomarginatus

• Gopherus morafkai

• Gopherus polyphemus

Pemuliharaan

Populasi kesemua enam spesies Gopherus menunjukkan penurunan. Dahulunya haiwan ini diburu kerana dagingnya, yang digunakan untuk dibuat sup atau stews sebagai makanan.^[12] Kini ancaman utamanya adalah kemusnahan habitat, perdagangan haiwan dan kemalangan dengan kenderaan.^[4] Sebagai langkah pencegahan, Jabatan Pengangkutan Amerika Syarikat di Mississippi meletakkan penghadang, bagi menghalang kura-kura ini melintas jalan raya berhampiran habitat mereka.^[13] Pada 9 November 2009, Jabatan Hidupan Liar Amerika Syarikat mencadangkan agar spesies Gopherus polyphemus diletakkan dalam senarai haiwan terancam.^[14]

Rujukan

Pautan luar

• Gopher Tortoise Council
• The Gopher Tortoise Organization

Gopherschildpadden^[1] (Gopherus) zijn een geslacht van schildpadden uit de familie landschildpadden. De soorten staan ook wel bekend als de woestijnschildpadden omdat ze allemaal in zeer droge omgevingen leven. De groep werd voor het eerst wetenschappelijk beschreven door Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz in 1832.

Leefwijze

Het voedsel bestaat voornamelijk uit plantaardig materiaal zoals schijfcactussen, soms wordt ook wel dierlijk materiaal gegeten. Alle soorten schuilen voor de zon en graven holen of gebruiken die van andere dieren, hieraan is ook de naam gopherschildpadden te danken; ze zijn vernoemd naar de gravende knaagdieren uit de familie Geomyidae, die gophers (goffers) worden genoemd in de Engelse taal.

Verspreiding en leefgebied

De soorten komen alleen voor in de Verenigde Staten en Mexico, en leven in droge en zanderige omgevingen zoals halfwoestijnen.

Gopherschildpadden zijn de enige vertegenwoordigers uit de familie landschildpadden die in Noord-Amerika voorkomen. Alle soorten zijn beschermd en mogen niet zomaar worden uitgevoerd. Er zijn vijf soorten, inclusief de soort Gopherus morafkai die pas in 2011 wetenschappelijk werd beschreven.^[2] In veel literatuur zijn daarom maar vier soorten bekend.

Taxonomie

Geslacht Gopherus

• Soort Woestijnschildpad (Gopherus agassizii, de Verenigde Staten en Mexico)
• Soort Texasschildpad (Gopherus berlandieri, de Verenigde Staten en Mexico)
• Soort Mexicaanse reuzengopherschildpad (Gopherus flavomarginatus, Mexico)
• Soort Gopherus morafkai (de Verenigde Staten)
• Soort Gopherschildpad (Gopherus polyphemus, de Verenigde Staten)

Bronvermelding

Referenties

Bronnen

• (en) Peter Uetz & Jakob Hallermann - The Reptile Database – Gopherus - Website Geconsulteerd 14 juli 2015
• (en) - Peter Paul van Dijk, John B. Iverson, Anders G. J. Rhodin, H. Bradley Shaffer & Roger Bour - Turtles of the World, 7th Edition: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution with Maps, and Conservation Status - ISSN 10887105 (2014) - Website
• (en) C.H. Ernst, R.G.M. Altenburg & R.W. Barbour - Turtles of the World - Website

Gopherus – rodzaj żółwi lądowych obejmujący współczesne gatunki:

• Gopherus agassizii
• Gopherus berlandieri
• Gopherus evgoodei^[2]
• Gopherus flavomarginatus
• Gopherus morafkai
• Gopherus polyphemus – żółw norowy

Przypisy

Gopherus é um gênero de tartarugas fossoriais. É agrupada com tartarugas terrestres que se originaram 60 milhões de anos atrás, na América do Norte. Um estudo genético mostrou que seus parentes mais próximos estão no gênero asiático Manouria.^[1] Vivem no sul dos Estados Unidos, desde o Deserto de Mojave, na Califórnia, até a Flórida, e em partes do norte do México. São assim nomeadas por causa de sua capacidade de cavar grandes e profundas tocas; podem ter de até 12 metros de comprimento e 3 de profundidade.^[2] Essas tocas são usadas por uma variedade de outras espécies, incluindo mamíferos, outros répteis, anfíbios e pássaros.^[3] Essas tartarugas têm de 20 a 50 centímetros de comprimento, dependendo da espécie.^[4]

Referências

Bibliografia

Gopherus^[1] är ett släkte av sköldpaddor som ingår i familjen landsköldpaddor.^[1]

Arter enligt Catalogue of Life^[1]:

• Gopherus agassizii
• Gopherus berlandieri
• Gopherus flavomarginatus
• Gopherus polyphemus

The Reptile Databas listar ytterligare en art i släktet.^[2]

• Gopherus morafkai

Källor

1. ^ [a b c] Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D. (red.) (18 april 2011). ”Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist.”. Species 2000: Reading, UK. http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2011/search/all/key/gopherus/match/1. Läst 24 september 2012.
2. ^ Gopherus, The Reptile Databas, läst 2016-02-21.

Externa länkar

• Wikimedia Commons har media som rör Gopherus.
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• Wikispecies har information om Gopherus.
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• 1 Опис
• 2 Спосіб життя
• 3 Розповсюдження
• 4 Види
• 5 Джерела

• Xerobates Agassiz, 1857
• Bysmachelys Johnston, 1937
• Scaptochelys Bramble, 1982^[1]

• Gopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1861) — Пустынный западный гофер
• Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857) — Техасский гофер
• Gopherus flavomarginatus Legler, 1959 — Мексиканский гофер
• Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin, 1801) — Гофер-полифем

• G. agassizii (Cooper, 1863)
• G. berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857)
• G. flavomarginatus Legler, 1959
• G. morafkai Murphy et al., 2011
• G. polyphemus (Daudin, 1802)

穴龜屬（Gopherus）是陸龜科下的一個屬，基因研究顯示該屬與亞洲的凹甲陸龜屬有親緣關係。^[1] 該屬的龜一般長20～50厘米（7.9～19.7英寸）。^[2] 其下的五個中都發現於乾旱地區。

分佈與習性

該屬的龜主要生活在墨西哥北部及美國南部加利福尼亞莫哈韋沙漠到佛羅里達的地區。其名稱來源自這個屬的龜會挖掘深而大的洞穴的能力，這些洞穴可長達40英尺（12米），深10英尺（3.0米）。^[3] 他們挖掘出的洞穴中有時也會住入其他動物，諸如小型哺乳類、兩栖類、鳥類以及其他爬行動物。^[4]

穴龜屬的龜是食草動物，主要食物包括大部份草和豆科植物，以及一些植物果實。同時也會食腐及一些動物糞便。它們很少呆在水中。

沙漠陸龜

繁殖

每年的四月至五月是穴龜屬的繁殖季節，但也要有可能提前到早春時節，雄龜會前往雌龜的巢穴與之交配，雌性陸龜會將產卵點選在其巢穴不遠處，每次產3至15枚卵。孵化期需70至100天。出生之後就會呆在母龜的巢穴中直到它們可以自己挖掘洞穴為止，其成年時間約10至15年。^[5]

種

2011年7月，研究人員根據DNA和行為數據將索諾蘭沙漠和莫哈韋沙漠的穴龜分成了兩個不同的種。^[6] 因此該屬下現有5種：^[7]

• 莫哈韋沙漠地鼠陸龜 (Gopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1863))
• 德州穴龜 (Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857)）
• 黃緣穴龜 (Gopherus flavomarginatus (Legler, 1959))
• 索諾蘭沙漠地鼠陸龜 (Gopherus morafkai (Murphy et al., 2011))^[6]
• 地鼠穴龜 （Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin, 1802)）

保護

穴龜屬五個種的數量都在急劇下降，以前其龜肉常被用來煮龜湯。^[8] 現在其主要威脅則來自棲息地的破壞，同時寵物貿易和車輛的碾壓也對其造成了一定的威脅。^[2] 美國密西西比州交通部在通過穴龜屬龜棲息地的高速公路兩邊安置了有角度的護欄，以防止這些龜爬到公路上而被車輛碾壓造成傷亡。^[9] 2009年11月9日，美國魚類及野生動物管理局將美國東部的地鼠穴龜列到了其瀕危物種名單上。^[10]

參考文獻