Scutes and Age Determination of Desert Tortoises Revisited
Germano DJ. 1998. Scutes and Age Determination of Desert Tortoises Revisited. Copeia. 1998(2):482-484
Early investigators of desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) dismissed as inaccurate the use of scute layers for determining age of individuals. The author tested the use of scute layers to determine age of younger desert tortoises by counting the number of scute annuli of known-age tortoises and found that the number of scute annuli either matched age or was one or two layers less than know age.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Germano, David
- Units
- MOJA
- Keywords
- Bakersfield California, carapace, Clemmys insculpta, Distribution (Biodiversity), Gopherus agassizii, known-age tortoises, Mojave Desert, Observations, Presence (Biodiversity), scute layers, Testudo graeca