preview

Desert Tortoise Research Paper

Decent Essays

Slide 2 Color: They have six-sided shells which range in color from dull yellow, to greenish-tan, to brown and have a high dome. The limbs and head are usually brown or grey in color. Size / Weight Range Range: They weigh 8 to 15 pounds and their approximate height is 4 to 6 inches. The average length of a desert tortoise is about 10 to 14 inches long, although the males do grow slightly longer on average. Hatchlings are only 2 to 2 1/2 inches. A desert tortoise has a unique shape, and can't be mistaken for anything else native to its range, although introduced tortoise species can complicate this. Group: The desert tortoise is considered part of the testudinidae (tortoise) family, but before this in the list of biological classification, …show more content…

The desert tortoise is widely spread across the Mojave desert and Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and the northwestern part of Mexico, especially the Sinaloan thornscrub, western Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada and southwestern Utah. Desert tortoise inhabits areas covered with creosote bushes, rocky canyons, semi-arid grasslands and hillsides. It usually lives on the altitude of 1000 to 3000 feet, but it can survive even on the elevation of 5000 feet. Some even live in Death Valley. No other type of tortoise faces the same kind of extreme conditions due to habitat that the desert tortoise does. The extremely high and low temperatures force the desert tortoise to adapt. To survive in the harsh desert climate, the tortoise estivates (remains underground in its burrow) during the hottest times of the day in the summer and hibernates (sleeps underground in its burrow) through the winter. Tortoises come out in the spring to eat grasses and wildflowers and drink water from the spring rains. They store water within themselves and use it through the dry months while water is not available. In the spring, they socialize and look for

Get Access