# Gopherus evgoodei



## ellen (Feb 24, 2016)

https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/ua-researcher-discovers-new-species-of-tortoise

"In the hot, humid climate of Sinaloa, Mexico, there is a place where the landscape shifts dramatically. Dense, nestled and inevitably thorny Thornscrub of the north gives way to tropical, deep-green deciduous trees of the more southerly region.

The tortoise species change with the vegetation. To the north dwell the Sonoran Desert Tortoises, a species which, if you live in southern Arizona, you may find trekking amiably along many desert pathways. But south of the Thornscrub/tropics intersection, the tortoises are different.

"They can be strikingly yellow or orange, and their carapace, or shell, is flatter and squarer than what is seen in typical Sonoran individuals. The scales on their forelimbs frequently protrude and can be very spiky," Edwards said, describing the species he recently discovered. "To hold one is to know you are holding something special."

Many research questions remain for Goode's Thornscrub Tortoise, Edwards said, such as what they eat, how social they are, what their reproductive cycle is like or how far south their home range extends. "Our southernmost sample was collected south of the Rio Fuerte in Sinaloa," he said."


----------



## Cowboy_Ken (Feb 24, 2016)

Thank You @ellen 
It's nice to see I'm not the only one to post information based threads…


----------



## ellen (Feb 24, 2016)

It's so exciting! I attend the University of Arizona! I really want to meet this guy and I am planning on raiding the herp collection to see if we have a specimen. If we do I'll be sure to post pics.


----------



## ellen (Feb 25, 2016)

Sorry for double posting but I have some updates. I went to the herp collection and sadly no one was around to let me in. Drats! 

However, one of my professors offered to introduce me to him. We're going to meet to talk next week. I'm going to finish reading the article in ZooKeys and one that was E-mailed to me earlier today so I'll have a really good list of questions in mind to ask. Any suggestions from people here are welcome.


----------



## BeeBee*BeeLeaves (Feb 26, 2016)

This is so cool! Thanks Cowboy Ken and ellen for sharing this news!

Okay. True confession. I thought Eric Goode was so groovy ... Studio 54 and Area. All that crazy club fun. Then I thought he was even groovier when he got involved with the holy grail of gopherus, my fave of all faves, thee bolson, thee tortuga topo. Now, now he gets a total gopherus species with his name? I can't take it. Peel me off the floor so I can marry him!

LOL! Being.Quite.Silly.
Kinda.


----------



## bryson white (Mar 19, 2016)

ellen said:


> https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/ua-researcher-discovers-new-species-of-tortoise
> 
> "In the hot, humid climate of Sinaloa, Mexico, there is a place where the landscape shifts dramatically. Dense, nestled and inevitably thorny Thornscrub of the north gives way to tropical, deep-green deciduous trees of the more southerly region.
> 
> ...


yes a new tortoise for the Gopherus species


----------

