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Bolson Tortoise

Reptiles

North America's largest terrestrial tortoise, living in a region of the Chihuahuan Desert known as the Bolson de Mapimi in north-central Mexico, where it digs deep burrows to escape the desert heat. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Classification
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 1
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Derived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status (w-bfill-g5-0924 browse backfill).
Disputed
Population Estimate
10,000 1
The most recent published estimate is from 1991, based on data collected in 1983; no more recent census was found.
Scientific Name
Gopherus flavomarginatus 1
Conservation Status
Critically Endangered 1
Recommended for reclassification from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered in 2018.
Connections

In Ecosystem

Source Bolson Tortoise (Wikipedia)

Open Questions

Source Bolson Tortoise (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Bolson Tortoise (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead section
    It lives in a region of the Chihuahuan Desert known as the Bolson de Mapimi, which is located in north-central Mexico.
  • Taxobox
  • Conservation status section
    Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
  • Population section
    The most recent research, published in 1991 from data collected in 1983, estimates that fewer than 10,000 tortoises remain in the wild.
  • System/realm (stated plainly in the entity own recorded description)
    North America's largest terrestrial tortoise, living in a region of the Chihuahuan Desert known as the Bolson de Mapimi in north-central Mexico, where it digs deep burrows to escape the desert heat.
  • Open Questions: Open Question: Bolson Tortoise Population
View the Source
Open Questions (1 open question)
Open Question: Bolson Tortoise Population

The only published population estimate for the Bolson tortoise, fewer than 10,000 individuals, comes from research published in 1991 using data collected in 1983. No more recent field census of the wild population was found.

What would resolve this A current field survey of the Bolson de Mapimi population, comparable in method to the 1983 study, to establish whether the species has declined further since its 2018 uplisting to Critically Endangered.
Conservation BiologyBolson Tortoise (Wikipedia)
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