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Gopher tortoises
Gopherus polyphemus
26.5253, -80.0664
Field Notes
Description:
The gopher tortoise is a fairly large terrestrial turtle 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. They are 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 out from the shell. Sexual dimorphism is evident, with male gopher tortoises having concave plastrons, while those of females are flat. In addition, the gular projection on male plastrons is generally longer than in females. Carapace length can range from 20 to 30 cm (7.9 to 12 in), with a height (to the peak of the shell at the middle of the body) of 15–37 cm (5.9–15 in). Body mass averages 4 kg (8.8 lb), with a range of 2–6 kg (4.4–13 lb).[5][6]
Habitat:
Breeding and reproductionSexual reproduction involves courtship rituals between the male and the female tortoises. During the mating season between April and November, females lay their eggs in the open; about 1–25 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 30 degrees Celsius, it’s a female and if below 30 degrees Celsius, the egg is a male. Incubation period can last from 80–90 days in Florida and 110 days in South Carolina. Gopher tortoises can live more than 40 years.[13] One current specimen has been living continuously in captivity in Halifax, Nova Scotia for 70 years as of 2012,[14] and is believed to have hatched between 1920 and 1925. Additionally, there are journalistic reports of a specimen in North Texas with a verified age of 75–78 years old.
The gopher tortoise reaches maturity at about 10–15 years of age, when their shells are around 9 inches (23 cm) long.[10] They may mate from February through September, with a peak throughout May and June.[15] Females may lay clutches of 3–14 eggs,[15] 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[10] before the eggs hatch, and less than 6% of eggs are expected to grow into tortoises that live one year or more after hatching.
Notes:
These individuals are in an unprotected conservation easement for gopher tortoises. Just 10 feet off of a bicycle path that I ride daily. Have observed the "normal" resident of this nest for a number of years. The individual shown walking to the nest entrance is a new female. She approaches the male that lives here and upon seeing him turns and lays here eggs in the entry of the burrow. It is said that often the uyoung will hatch and literally fall inhto the burrow. They often live with the adult for up to a year. This is a fairly successful colony of 7 to 10 burrows closely located to each other. I would assum they are sibling nests. Others colonies are located close enopugh to these to add genetic diversity.
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