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19 kwi 2018 · How to Identify Florida Land Turtles. More than 30 species of turtle call Florida home, and while the majority are primarily aquatic a handful go about their business mostly on land: several varieties of box turtle as well as the gopher tortoise.
Florida’s native and nonnative turtle species are commonly misidentified as gopher tortoises. You can tell these other species apart from gopher tortoises by looking for the characteristics listed here in our guide.
Gopher tortoises are long-lived reptiles that occupy upland habitat throughout Florida including forests, pastures, and yards. They dig deep burrows for shelter and forage on low-growing plants. Gopher tortoises share their burrows with more than 350 other species, and are therefore referred to as a keystone species.
The gopher tortoise is one of five North American tortoise species and is the only tortoise naturally found east of the Mississippi River. Its range includes the southeastern Coastal Plain from southeastern Louisiana east to southern South Carolina, and south to Florida.
Animals. Photo Ark. Gopher tortoise. Found in the southeastern U.S., the gopher tortoise is critical to keeping its ecosystem healthy. Urbanization and other threats, however, have rendered...
The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a terrestrial species and the only tortoise found east of the Mississippi River. They range from southeastern Louisiana to southern South Carolina, and south to Florida. Gopher tortoises are found in all 67 counties across Florida and have been on the planet for 60 million years.
Biology and behavior: Gopher tortoises are most active during April–October, but in southern Florida they are also active on warm days in winter. They live in excavated burrows that are an average of 15 feet long and 6.5 feet deep and provide shelter from weather, fire, and predators.
