Gopherus berlandieri
Silhouette: Andrew A. Farke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species G. berlandieri is one of six species of tortoises that are native to North America. G. berlandieri (Texas Tortoise) is found in the southern third of Texas (roughly parallel to Houston) southward into the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Within its range, it inhabits semi-arid regions characterized by mesquite shrub and cactus dominated landscapes.
The specific epithet, berlandieri, is in honor of naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier, who worked for the Mexican government on one of the first biological surveys of Texas.[1] As such, some sources refer to it as Berlandier's tortoise.
The Texas tortoise, unlike other species of gopher tortoise, is not an adept burrower. It uses the thick vegetation for cover and thermoregulation. Succulent plants, a preferred food of the Texas tortoise, are common in these areas. It especially likes the fruit of cacti such as the prickly pear. The Texas Tortoise is oviparous. Female clutch sizes typically range anywhere from 1 to 5 eggs. The success of these clutches dramatically... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
More parks will be added in future updates.
No species of the same family or order lives in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Texas Tortoise sighting in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, based on 126 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 17th most-seen of the 43 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and June
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Texas Tortoise in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, July and October–December, the lowest months. Those are among Cumbres de Monterrey National Park's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in December.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Texas Tortoise sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Cumbres de Monterrey National Park, in our data
Cumbres de Monterrey National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Texas Tortoise sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Texas Tortoise is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (126 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
