Description: The gopher tortoise is a fairly large terrestrial reptile which possesses forefeet well adapted for burrowing, and elephantine hind feet. These features are common to most tortoises. The front legs have scales to protect the tortoise while burrowing. G. polyphemus is dark brown to gray-black in overall color, with a yellow plastron (bottom shell). A gular projection is evident on the anterior plastron where the head projects from the shell. Sexual dimorphism is evident, with the male gopher tortoise having a concave plastron, while that of the female is flat. In addition, the gular projection of a male plastron is generally longer than that of a female. Straight carapace length of adults usually ranges from 6 to 9.5 iches, with a maximum of 16 inches. The carapace is at least twice as long as it is high. Body mass averages 8.8 lbs., with a range of 4.4 to 13.2 lbs.

Habitat: Gopher tortoises are terrestrial tortoises and can be found in habitats with dry, sandy soils, a thin tree canopy, and plenty of low growing vegetation. Some common Gopher tortoise habitats include scrub, coastal dunes, sandhill, pine and scrubby flatwoods, prairie, pine-mixed hardwoods, and xeric hammock. Periodic burning is an essential component of Gopher tortoise habitat, as it inhibits the growth of tall, dense vegetation that prevents the growth of low growing plants that make up the tortoises’ diet. Within these habitats, G. polyphemus builds underground burrows. These burrows average 15 feet in length and 6.5 feet deep. These burrows, which maintain a steady temperature and humidity throughout the year, provide gopher tortoise with protection from fires, extreme temperatures, drought, and predators.

Range: Gopherus polyphemus is found only in the southeastern United States. Its range extends through the Coastal Plain, from the southern tip of South Carolina through a small area at the extreme eastern end of Louisiana. The majority of the range of G. polyphemus is located in Florida. Small portions of southern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia are also part of the range.

Found in these States: AL | FL | GA | LA | MS | SC

Diet: Gopher tortoises are herbivore scavengers and opportunistic grazers. Thus, their diets contains over 300 species of plants, with the dominant plants within their environment likely making up the bulk of their diet. They consume a very wide range of plants, but mainly eat broad-leaved grass, regular grass, wiregrass, and terrestrial legumes. They also eat mushrooms, and fruits such as gopher apple, pawpaw, blackberries, and saw palmetto berries. In addition, gopher tortoises eat flowers from the genera Cnidoscolus (nettles), Tillandsia (Spanish and ball moss), Richardia, and Dyschoriste. Juvenile tortoises tend to eat more legumes, which are higher in protein, and fewer grasses and tough, fibrous plants than mature tortoises. As gopher tortoises usually get water from the food they eat, they usually only drink standing water in times of extreme drought.

Reproduction: Sexual reproduction involves courtship rituals. During the mating season between April and November, females lay their eggs in the open; about 1 to 25 eggs incubate underground for 100 days. The sex of the eggs is determined by the temperature where they are incubated in a nest laid below sand. If the sand is over 86℉, it's a female and if below 86℉, the egg is a male. Incubation period can last from 80 to 90 days in Florida and 110 days in South Carolina.

Gopher tortoises may mate from February through September, with a peak throughout May and June. Females may lay clutches of 3 to 14 eggs, depending on body size, in a sandy mound very close to the entrance of their burrow.

Ninety percent of clutches may be destroyed by predators such as armadillos, raccoons, foxes, skunks, and alligators before the eggs hatch, and less than 6% of eggs are expected to grow into tortoises that live one year or more after hatching. As the tortoises age, they have fewer natural predators. Egg predation rates are unchanged regardless of whether nests are close to or remain far from burrows. Additionally, a denser soil composition may affect hatchlings' ability to emerge due to the hatchlings' apparent inability to dig themselves out of the nest.

Status: Since July 7, 1987, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has listed Gopherus polyphemus as "Threatened" wherever the tortoises are found west of the Mobile and Tombigbee Rivers in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Its status is listed as "Under Review" in Florida and in other locations. On November 9, 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed rulemaking to include the eastern population of Gopherus polyphemus in the List of Threatened Wildlife. G. polyphemus appears on the IUCN Red List as a "Vulnerable" species; however, it has not been assessed for the purposes of this list since 1996. In July 2011, the USFWS determined that listing the eastern population of the tortoise as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act is warranted, however, it is precluded from doing so at this time due to higher priority actions and a lack of sufficient funds to commence proposed rule development. In the interim period of time the USFWS will place the eastern population of the tortoise on its candidate species list until sufficient funding is available to initiate a proposed listing rule. In 2018, the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group recommended a re-assessment and reclassification of all six Gopherus species. This reclassification would move G. polyphemus from Vulnerable (VU) to Endangered (EN). NatureServe considers the species to be Vulnerable.

The Conservation Clinic at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law describes five main threats to the tortoise population, which are: (1) habitat loss through human development, (2) habitat loss through poor supervision, (3) human desire to use it as a pet or eat it as meat (see human predation), (4) relocation causing population disruption, and (5) disease caused by relocation.

Subspecies: None

Taxonomy: