Gopherus Rafinesque 1832, Atl. J. Friend Knowl. Philadelphia 1(2):64.
TYPE SPECIES: Testudo polyphemus Daudin 1801 [1802], by original designation.
DISTRIBUTION: Southeastern U.S.A. and northcentral Mexico.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Auffenberg and Franz 1978, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 211:1-2, and Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:607-613. Auffenberg 1976, Bull. Florida State Mus. Biol. Sci. 20(2):47-110, and Bramble 1982, Copeia (4):852-867, suggested Gopherus is composed of two groups, each with two species. Further, Bramble erected Scaptochelys to contain the stem-group from which Gopherus was derived. Bour and Dubois 1984, Bull. Men. Soc. Linne. Lyon 53(1):30-32, synonymized Scaptochelys with Xerobates. Iverson 1986, Checklist Turt. World :148-149, treated Xerobates as a subgenus of Gopherus. Crumly 1987, Proc. Desert Tort. Council 1984 Symp. :48-49, argued that all of the gopher tortoises should remain in Gopherus. See comments under Gopherus agassizi and G. berlandieri, and also under Testudinidae.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX, US.
COMMON NAME: Gopher tortoises.

Image of desert tortoise
Gopherus agassizii (Cooper 1863). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Gopherus agassizii (Cooper 1863), Proc. California Acad. Sci. 2:120.
ORIGINAL NAME: Xerobates agassizii.
TYPES: 3 Syntypes: originally "Three young specimens, a male of seven years of age, two females of six and four years," in the California State Geological Survey collection (? = Museum of California Division of Mines and Geology, Room 2022, Ferry Building, San Francisco, California 94111, U.S.A.), according to Cooper 1863, Proc. California Acad. Sci. 2:120. They may have been transferred later to other collections, since Cochran 1961, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. 220:236, listed USNM 7888 as one of the syntypes. If the other two were transferred to the CAS, they were destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.
TYPE LOCALITY: "mountains of California, near Fort Mojave," U.S.A.; surviving USNM syntype from "Utah Basin, Mojave River (catalog entry is "Soldado Valley, California")" according to Cochran 1961, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 220:236.
DISTRIBUTION: Southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah through southern Arizona, U.S.A., and Sonora (including Tiburon Island) to northern Sinaloa, Mexico.
COMMENT: Subgenus Xerobates. Reviewed by Auffenberg and Franz 1978, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 212:1-2, and Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetfauna Mexico Turt. 6:619-620. Crumly 1987, Proc. Desert Tort. Council 1984 Symp. :48-49, showed that agassizii should remain in Gopherus, since the characters Bramble 1982, Copeia (4):852-867, used to place agassizii and berlandieri in a separate genus were not unique, but are possessed by flavomarginatus and polyphemus as well.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II; U.S.A. Endangered Species Act: Threatened. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:97-99, and listed as Vulnerable. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.004.001:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX, US.
COMMON NAME: Desert tortoise, Tortuga del desierto.

Image of Texas tortoise
Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz 1857). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Gopherus berlandieri (Agassiz 1857), Contrib. Nat. Hist. U.S.A. Testud. 1:447.
ORIGINAL NAME: Xerobates berlandieri.
TYPES: 2 Syntypes: USNM 60 (2 specimens).
TYPE LOCALITY: "southern Texas and Mexico"; restricted to "Lower Rio Grande, Texas," U.S.A., by Stejneger and Barbour 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept. :121; restricted to "Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas," U.S.A., by Schmidt 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., ed. 6:105.
DISTRIBUTION: Southern Texas, U.S.A., and Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas, Mexico.
COMMENT: Subgenus Xerobates. Reviewed by Auffenberg and Franz 1978, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 213:1-2, and Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:621-622. See comment under Gopherus agassizii.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:101-102, and listed as Indeterminate. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.004.002:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX, US.
COMMON NAME: Texas tortoise, Tortuga de Tamaulipas.

Image of bolson tortoise
Gopherus flavomarginatus Legler 1959. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Gopherus flavomarginatus Legler 1959, Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 11:337.
TYPE: Holotype: USNM 61253.
TYPE LOCALITY: "30 to 40 miles north from Lerdo, Durango, Mexico".
DISTRIBUTION: The desert basins of northcentral Mexico: southeastern Chihuahua, western Coahuila, and northeastern Durango.
COMMENT: Subgenus Gopherus. Reviewed by Auffenberg and Franz 1978, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 214:1-2; Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:6322-638; and Morafka 1982, U.S. Fish Wildl. Res. Report 12:71-94.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix I; U.S.A. Endangered Species Act: Endangered. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:103-107, and listed as Endangered. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.004.003:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX.
COMMON NAME: Bolson tortoise, Mexican giant tortoise, Tortuga grande, Tortuga llanero, Tortuga terrestre mexicana.

Image of gopher tortoise
Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin 1801 [1802]). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin 1801 [1802]), Hist. Nat. Gén. Part. Rept. 2:256.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo polyphemus.
TYPE: Not designated.
TYPE LOCALITY: "existe dans diverses parties de l'Amérique septentrionale, principalement sur les bords de la rivière Savanna et près de l'Alatamah," U.S.A.; restricted by Schmidt 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., ed. 6:104, to "vicinity of Savannah, Georgia," U.S.A.
DISTRIBUTION: Southeastern Louisiana to Florida and South Carolina, U.S.A.
COMMENT: Subgenus Gopherus. Reviewed by Auffenberg and Franz 1978, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 215:1-2.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:109-111, and listed as Vulnerable. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.004.004:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: US.
COMMON NAME: Gopher tortoise.


Homopus Duméril and Bibron 1835, Erpét. Gén. Hist. Nat. Rept. 2:145.
TYPE SPECIES: Testudo areolatus Thunberg 1787, Kongl. Svens. Vetensk. Acad. Handl. 8:180, by subsequent designation of Fitzinger 1843, Syst. Rept. 1:29.
DISTRIBUTION: Republic of South Africa.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:352-374, and Greig and Burdett 1976, Zoologica Africana 11:254-257, 268-272.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: SF.
COMMON NAME: Cape tortoises.

Image of beaked tortoise
Homopus areolatus (Thunberg 1787). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Homopus areolatus (Thunberg 1787), Kongl. Svens. Vetensk. Acad. Handl. 8:180.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo areolata.
TYPE: Holotype: ZIUS 298.
TYPE LOCALITY: "India" (in error).
DISTRIBUTION: Republic of South Africa, southern Cape Province from Cradock and Grahamstown, west to St. Helena Bay, usually below 900 m. elevation; an isolated population at Middelpost is at 1300 m.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:352-374, and Greig and Burdett 1976, Zoologica Africana 11:256, 271.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.005.001:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: SF.
COMMON NAME: Beaked Cape tortoise, Areolated tortoise, Parrot-beaked tortoise, Grooved mountain tortoise.

Image of Boulenger's padloper
Homopus boulengeri Duerden 1906. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Homopus boulengeri Duerden 1906, Rec. Albany Mus. Grahamstown 1:406.
TYPE: Holotype: BMNH 1947.1.23.4; formerly BMNH 1906.6.21.
TYPE LOCALITY: "South Africa - Districts of Willowmore, Aberdeen, and Beaufort West".
DISTRIBUTION: Republic of South Africa, Karroo Plain of south-central Cape Province.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:352-374, and Greig and Burdett 1976, Zoologica Africana 11:256, 270.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.005.002:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: SF.
COMMON NAME: Boulenger's Cape tortoise, Boulenger's padloper, Donner-weer tortoise.

Image of Karoo Cape tortoise
Homopus femoralis Boulenger 1888. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Homopus femoralis Boulenger 1888, Proc. Zool. Soc. London (2):251.
TYPES: 3 Syntypes: including BMNH 1946.1.22.54 (formerly BMNH 1888.12.28.1), other specimens not traced.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Cradock," Cape Province, Republic of South Africa.
DISTRIBUTION: Republic of South Africa, eastern Karroo of Cape Province, north to western Orange Free State, usually above 900 m. elevation.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:352-374, and Greig and Burdett 1976, Zoologica Africana 11:2256-257, 272.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.005.003:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: SF.
COMMON NAME: Karroo Cape Tortoise, Greater padloper.

Image of speckled tortoise
Homopus signata (Schoepf 1801). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Homopus signatus (Schoepf 1801), Hist. Testud. Icon. Illustr. :120.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo signata.
TYPE: Not designated.
TYPE LOCALITY: Not stated.
DISTRIBUTION: Republic of South Africa, extreme western Cape Province, between the Orange and Oliphantes rivers; doubtful record north of the Orange River in Namibia.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:352-374; Greig and Burdett 1976, Zoologica Africana 11:255, 269; and Boycott 1987, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr. 32:10-16.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.005.004:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: SF.
COMMON NAME: Speckled tortoise, Speckled Cape tortoise.


Indotestudo Lindholm 1929, Zool. Anz. Leipzig 81:285.
TYPE SPECIES: Testudo elongata Blyth 1853, J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 22:639, by monotypy.
DISTRIBUTION: Northcentral India to Vietnam, Malaya, and Sulawesi and Halmahera in Indonesia.
COMMENT: See comment under Geochelone.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BD, BU, CN, ID, IN, KH, MY, TH, VN.

Image of elongated tortoise
Indotestudo elongata (Blyth 1853). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Indotestudo elongata (Blyth 1853), J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 22:639.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo elongata.
TYPE: According to Bourret 1941, Tort. Indochine 38:188-189, the holotype is deposited in "L'Indian Museum de Calcutta", unverified; see comment below.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Hab. Arakan," Burma.
DISTRIBUTION: Northwestern India to Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, People's Republic of China, and west Malaysia.
COMMENT: Iverson 1986, Checklist Turt. World :156, like Bourret 1941, Tort. Indochine 38:188-189, suggests the holotype may be in the IMC, which today is primarily an ethnographic museum. Many specimens reported to be in the IMC, or in the museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, are in the ZSI. Reviewed by Smith 1931, Fauna British India Rept. Amph. 1:141- 43; Pope 1935, Nat. Hist. Cent. Asia, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 10:55-56; Bourret 1941, Tort. Indochine 38:188-189 (as Testudo elongata); and Taylor 1970, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 49:129-130. Also see Ross and Crumly 1983, J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 79:429-430.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: Huang C.
STATUS: Under Geochelone elongata, CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.003.006:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BD, BU, CN, IN, KH, MY, TH, VN.
COMMON NAME: Yellow tortoise, Red-nosed tortoise, Yellow-headed tortoise, Elongated tortoise.

Image of Travancore tortoise
Indotestudo forstenii (Schlegel and Müller 1844). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Indotestudo forstenii (Schlegel and Müller 1844), In: Temminck, Verh. Nat. Gesch. Nederl. Bezitt., Schildp. :30.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo forstenii.
TYPE: Lectotype: RMNH 3811, designated by Hoogmoed and Crumly 1984, Zool. Med. Leiden 58:245.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Gilolo" (=Halmahera Island), Moluccas, Indonesia.
DISTRIBUTION: Sulawesi (=Celebes) and Halmahera islands, Indonesia, and Kerala, India.
COMMENT: Geochelone travancorica Boulenger 1907, J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 17:560, is a synonym according to Hoogmoed and Crumly 1984, Zool. Med. Leiden 58:243-251; see Pritchard 1979, Encycl. Turt. :319. However, the Sulawesi population presumably is introduced. Obst 1986, Turt., tort. terrapins :211, treats both forstenii and tranvancorica as subspecies of Indotestudo elongata.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
REVIEWER: M. Hoogmoed, P. Pritchard.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II (as Geochelone forstenii). Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:75-76, as Geochelone forsteni and Geochelone travancorica, and listed as Rare. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.003.008:1-2 and A-301.011.003.015:1-2 (as G. forstenii and G. travancorica respectively).
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: IN, ID.
COMMON NAME: Forsten's tortoise, Travancore tortoise, Celebes tortoise.


Kinixys Bell 1827, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 15:398.
TYPE SPECIES: Kinixys castanea Bell 1827 (=Testudo erosa Schweigger 1812), by monotypy.
DISTRIBUTION: Western, central, and southern Africa.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Broadley 1981, Ann. Cape Prov. Mus. Nat. Hist. 13:195-215.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: AO, BF, BJ, BW, CD, CG, CF, CM, ET, GA, GH, GN, GQ, GW, CI, KE, LI, MG, ML, MR, MZ, NE, NG, SD, SL, SN, SO, SZ, TG, TZ, UG, ZA, ZM, ZR, ZW.
COMMON NAME: Hinged tortoises, Hinge-backed tortoises.

Image of Bell's hinged tortoise
Kinixys belliana Gray 1831. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Kinixys belliana Gray 1831, Synops. Rept. Cataphracta 1:69.
TYPE: Holotype: BMNH 1979.919.
TYPE LOCALITY: Unknown; "bought at Humphrey's, West Africa" according to label on type.
DISTRIBUTION: Senegal to Ethiopia and south to northern Republic of South Africa; Madagascar.
COMMENT: Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:384-396, synonymized Kinixys natalensis Hewitt 1935 with Kinixys belliana. Broadley 1981, Ann. Cape Prov. Mus. Nat. Hist. 13:195-216, recognized Kinixys natalensis as a full species. Reviewed by Greig and Burdett 1976, Zoologica Africana 11(2):257, 273.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.006.001:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: AO, BF, BJ, BW, CM, ET, GH, GN, GW, KE, MG, ML, MR, MZ, NE, NG, SD, SL, SN, SO, TG, TZ, UG, ZA, ZM, ZR, ZW.
COMMON NAME: Bell's hinge-backed tortoise, Kinixys de Bell.

Image of serrated hinge-back tortoise
Kinixys erosa (Schweigger 1812). Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Kinixys erosa (Schweigger 1812), Königsberg. Arch. Naturwiss. Math. 1:321.
ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo erosa.
TYPE: Not designated.
TYPE LOCALITY: "America septentrionali" (in error).
DISTRIBUTION: Gambia and Cabinda to Uganda, introduced in Madagascar.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:404-411.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.006.002:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: CD, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GH, GM, GQ, GW, LR, NG, SL, SN, UG, ZR.
COMMON NAME: Serrated hinge-back tortoise, West African hinged tortoise, Schweigger's hinge-back tortoise, Kinixys rongée, Tortue articulée d'Afrique.

Image of Home's hinged tortoise
Kinixys homeana Bell 1827. Illustration by Urs Woy.
Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Kinixys homeana Bell 1827, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 15:400.
TYPES: Syntypes: OUM 8522.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Africa occidentali"; Iverson 1986, Checklist Turt. World. :160, incorrectly reports that the type locality was restricted to "Cape Coast, Ashantee" [Ghana] by Boulenger 1889, Cat. Chel. Rhynch. Croc. British Mus. :143.
DISTRIBUTION: Liberia and Equatorial Guinea to Zaire.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Loveridge and Williams 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:400-404.
CONTRIBUTOR: C. Crumly.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II. See Honegger 1980, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.011.006.003:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: CI, CM, GH, LR, NG, ZR.
COMMON NAME: Home's hinged tortoise, Home's hinge-backed tortoise, Kinixys de Home.

Kinixys natalensis Hewitt 1935, Rec. Albany Mus. Grahamstown 4:353.
TYPES: 2 Syntypes: AMG 6975A and AMG no catalog number. The unnumbered specimen designated lectotype by Broadley 1981, Ann. Cape Prov. Mus. Nat. Hist. 13:195-215.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Tugela River valley. . .Tugela River. . . Dimane stream near Jameson Drift," Natal Prov., Republic of South Africa.
DISTRIBUTION: Natal Province, Republic of South Africa, to Mozambique.
COMMENT: See comment under Kinixys belliana; elevated to species status by Broadley 1981, Ann. Cape Prov. Mus. Nat. Hist. 13:195-215. Obst 1986, Turt., tort. terrapins :211, retains it as a subspecies of Kinixys belliana.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix II.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MZ, ZA, SZ.
COMMON NAME: Natal hinged tortoise, Natal hinge-backed tortoise.


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