The former widespread Gopherus agassizii sensu lato was last assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in 1996, while the separate Sonoran Desert Tortoise, G. morafkai, was provisionally assessed as Vulnerable.
Notes on verification
Two independent sources corroborate the 1996 Vulnerable assessment for G. agassizii sensu lato and the provisional Vulnerable status carried over for G. morafkai, though the latter's status is described as provisional/inherited rather than a fresh independent IUCN assessment. [tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- Gopherus agassizii - USGS Publications Warehouse (seed:environment_and_wildlife)
- https://deserttortoise.org/wp-content/uploads/2019_Berry-and-Murphy_CRM_5_109_agassizii.pdf (corroboration)
- https://theturtleroom.org/species-profile/gopherus-morafkai/ (corroboration)