NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Texas (Gopher )Tortoise
Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
A low reproductive rate, historic heavy exploitation by pet suppliers, and other factors have led to a severe population decline of the species. This has resulted in its being listed in 1977 as a protected nongame (threatened) species, thus affording protection from being taken, possessed, transported, exported, sold, or offered for sale. Amistad Rec Area, San Pedro Campground road, Val Verde Co, Texas
Clinton & Charles Robertson from RAF Lakenheath, UK & San Marcos, TX, USA & UK · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species G. berlandieri is one of six species of tortoises that are native to North America.
Wikipedia contributors, Texas tortoise; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:37:35.202169+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857)
- Name authority
- (Agassiz, 1857)
- Common name
- Texas (Gopher )Tortoise
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Testudinidae
- Genus
- Gopherus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyTestudinoidea
- familyTestudinidae
- genusGopherus
- speciesGopherus berlandieri (Agassiz, 1857)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gopherus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bolson tortoiseGopherus flavomarginatus Legler, 1959 | TestudinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| (Californian) Desert TortoiseGopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1861) | TestudinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Morafka’s Desert TortoiseGopherus morafkai Murphy, Berry, Edwards, Leviton, Lathrop & Riedle, 2011 | TestudinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| (Florida) Gopher TortoiseGopherus polyphemus (Daudin, 1801) | TestudinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Xerobates berlandieri Ottley & Velázques Solis, 1989 Ottley & Velázques Solis, 1989 | synonym |
| Testudo bicolor Berlandier, 1850 Berlandier, 1850 | synonym |
| Xerobates berlandieri Agassiz, 1857 Agassiz, 1857 | synonym |
| Testudo tuberculata Berlandier, 1850 Berlandier, 1850 | ambiguous synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Gopherus&species=berlandieri Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3H2LF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.