The Mojave Desert Tortoise's Critically Endangered assessment includes disease effects from upper respiratory tract disease, also called mycoplasmosis.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by USGS publication and IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group Red List assessment, both explicitly citing upper respiratory tract disease/mycoplasmosis as a contributing factor to the Critically Endangered status. Multiple independent, authoritative sources corroborate. [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://tortoise-tracks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-Berry-et-al-IUCN-Red-List.pdf (corroboration)
- https://iucn-tftsg.org/gopherus-agassizii-109/ (corroboration)