---
title: "Mojave Desert Tortoise"
description: "Gopherus agassizii — Rettili. The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/mojave-desert-tortoise
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Mojave Desert Tortoise

> Gopherus agassizii — Rettili. The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae.

- Scientific name: *Gopherus agassizii*
- Category: `reptiles` (Rettili)
- Habitats: `desert` (Deserto)
- iNaturalist observations: 4993
- Wikidata: [Q914356](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q914356)
- iNaturalist taxon: [40086](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/40086)

## Names

- en: Mojave Desert Tortoise
- de: Kalifornische Gopherschildkröte
- es: Tortuga patona del desierto de Sonora
- fr: Gophère d'Agassiz
- nl: Woestijnschildpad

## Countries with the most observations

US (4232)

## Summary

The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and to the Sinaloan thornscrub of northwestern Mexico. G. agassizii is distributed in western Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah.  The specific name agassizii is in honor of Swiss-American zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz. The desert tortoise is the official state reptile in California and Nevada.
The desert tortoise lives 70 to 80 years on average; it grows slowly and…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_tortoise

## Photo

![Mojave Desert Tortoise](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/mojave-desert-tortoise/medium.jpg)

Photo: Stephanie Taylor · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/613969

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/mojave-desert-tortoise?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).