Desert Tortoise

Gopherus agassizii (Cooper 1861)

2002 California Academy of Sciences cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Gopherus agassizii (Desert Tortoise) is a species of turtles in the family tortoises. They are listed in cites appendix ii. They are native to The Nearctic and United States. They are solitary, diurnal herbivores. They have sexual reproduction. Reproduction is oviparous. They have parental care (female provides care).

URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/CITES_II
Definition: Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. It also includes so-called "look-alike species", i.e. species whose specimens in trade look like those of species listed for conservation reasons. International trade in specimens of Appendix-II species may be authorized by the granting of an export permit or re-export certificate. No import permit is necessary for these species under CITES (although a permit is needed in some countries that have taken stricter measures than CITES requires). Permits or certificates should only be granted if the relevant authorities are satisfied that certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild. (See Article IV of the Convention)
Source: https://www.speciesplus.net/#/taxon_concepts/7348/legal

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URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q737742
Definition: one of the eight terrestrial ecozones constituting the Earth's land surface
Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecozone_Nearctic.svg

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URI: http://www.geonames.org/6252001

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URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q59099
Definition: animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/solitary
Definition: Solitary animals are those that spend a majority of their lives without others of their species, with possible exceptions for mating and raising their young. Antonyms for a solitary animal include a social animal or a colonial animal.
Attribution: https://www.definitions.net/definition/solitary+animal

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URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q906470
Definition: animal behavior characterized by activity during the day, with a period of inactivity at night.

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URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0019953
Definition: Capable of creating a new organism by combining the genetic material of two gametes, which may come from two parent organisms or from a single organism, in the case of self-fertilizing hermaphrodites.

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URI: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/Oviparous
Definition: Egg laying; producing eggs that are laid and hatch externally (Lincoln et al., 1998).
Attribution: Lincoln, R., Boxshall, G. & Clark, P., 1998. A dictionary of ecology, evolution and systematics (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University of Press. http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/wiki/Traits:Oviparous

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/parentalCareFemale
Definition: the female feeds and nurtures offspring
Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109

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EOL has data for 44 attributes, including:

Body symmetry
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/body_symmetry
- Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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body shape
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/BodyShape
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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diet includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Diet
- Definition: Information about the items eaten by this organism.
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wood
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00002040
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ecomorphological guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/EcomorphologicalGuild
- Definition: organisms that share certain morphological traits due to adaptation to similar environments and ecological roles
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fossorial
- URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2850019
- Definition: organism that is adapted to digging and life underground.
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first appearance
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/FossilFirst
- Definition: The first appearance of this taxon in the fossil record.
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1.8 million years ago
geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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United States
- URI: http://www.geonames.org/6252001
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mating system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/MatingSystem
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promiscuous
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ECOCORE_00000067
- Definition: A member of one sex mates with any member of the opposite sex
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native range includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/NativeRange
- Definition: Lists jurisdictions in which a given organism is a member of the undisturbed fauna or flora.
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The Nearctic
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q737742
- Definition: one of the eight terrestrial ecozones constituting the Earth's land surface
- Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecozone_Nearctic.svg
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number of fossil occurrences
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/fossilOccPBDB
- Definition: The number of fossil occurrences in the Paleobiology Database (https://paleobiodb.org) that are identified as belonging to a particular taxon or any of its subtaxa.
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6
prenatal development duration
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/PrenatalDevelopmentDuration
- Definition: The duration of the development from fertilized, deposited or implanted egg to hatching/birth. Corresponds to egg incubation duration in oviparous animals and to gestation period duration in viviparous animals.
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118 days
social system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/SocialSystem
- Definition: Description of the relationships among individuals within a population of organisms, including reproductive relationships (mating system), relationships within each sex, adult – young interactions, helpers and cooperation (group living).
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solitary
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/solitary
- Definition: Solitary animals are those that spend a majority of their lives without others of their species, with possible exceptions for mating and raising their young. Antonyms for a solitary animal include a social animal or a colonial animal.
- Attribution: https://www.definitions.net/definition/solitary+animal
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trophic guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/TrophicGuild
- Definition: A group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_(ecology)
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xylophage
- URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q45879481
- Definition: organism that derives nutrition primarily from wood
- Comment: synonym: lignivore
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Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of desert tortoise. View this species on GBIF

2002 California Academy of Sciences cc-by-nc-sa-3.0