Description: Terrestrial turtle with a moderately domed, tan to dark-brown shell that can exceed 35 cm (14 in.) in length. Hind legs and feet are elephant-like, front legs are flattened and covered with thick overlapping scales. It is the only living tortoise native to Nevada. Tortoises are solitary, but may share a large natural cavity for protection. It spends most of its life in burrows that it constructs to prevent overheating or freezing, and reduce moisture loss from skin and lungs. Tortoises hibernate from about October to March or April. An average of 4 - 6 eggs are laid per clutch between early May and mid July. Hatching occurs in late summer or early fall. Only 1 to 2 percent of hatchlings may survive to reproductive age (18 - 20 years old). Tortoises may live more than 50 years.
Diet: Annual wild flowers and grasses that germinate when there is sufficient winter rain. Also eat new growth of cactus, cactus flowers, parts of some shrubs, and perennial grasses. Water derived from plants and from the occasional rain puddle can pass through the bladder wall into the bloodstream and thus be used as needed. Tortoises may expel this water if disturbed or lifted and thus lose their safeguard against dehydration and death.
Habitat: Mojave desert scrub with creosote and bursage, and in blackbrush. Found on alluvial fans, bajadas, washes, and rocky hills up to 1,400 m (4,500 ft).
Range: Mojave Desert of southeastern California, southern Nevada,
southwestern Utah, and northwestern Arizona; also in the Sonoran Desert and its subdivisions south of the Grand Canyon, and in western Mexico.
Special Remarks: The Mojave Desert populations west and north of the Colorado River are federally listed as Threatened, and are a State of Nevada protected species. Tortoises may not be disturbed, injured, or taken from the wild without a special permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Tortoises can be obtained as pets from the proper authorities.