Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Range and habitats of the desert tortoise

January 1, 1994

We determined the current range of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) based on the available latest data from government agencies, the literature, and our experience. We developed the first detailed range map of this species and summarized information about habitat preferences. New records of occurrences were incorporated, and some peripheral localities of questionable authenticity were deleted. The distribution oCG. agassizii covers the broadest range of latitude, climatic regimes, habitats, and biotic regions of any North American tortoise. The northern portion ofits range is in the Mojave Desert of sDuth"eastern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and northwestern Arizona. The central portion of the range consists of several subdivisions of the Sonaran Desert in southeastern California, western and southern Arizona, and western Sonora, Mexico. The southern edge of its range is in the semitropical Sinaloan thornscrub and Sinaloan deciduous forest of eastern Sonora and northern Sinaloa, Mexico. This species has marked geogi-aphic differences but seems to construct burrows
throughout its range.

Publication Year 1994
Title Range and habitats of the desert tortoise
Authors D.J. Germano, R.B. Bury, T. C. Esque, T. H. Fritts
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype Federal Government Series
Series Title Fish and Wildlife Research
Series Number 13
Index ID 5210762
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Patuxent Wildlife Research Center