Tiny desert tortoise found during a population census
Detailed Description
This tiny tortoise, about the size of a half dollar, was found during a population census of desert tortoises in the extremely rugged McCollough Mountains of southern Nevada. The tortoise was assigned an individual number (on top of the shell) in anticipation of measuring growth rates in future years, and monitoring survivorship among several different populations. A minute blood sample was taken from this and the other tortoises that were found to understand relatedness among the tortoises at this site, understand which tortoises make contributions to future generations, learn about connectivity among tortoise populations on either side of the mountain range and how solar development and highways influence natural connectivity among populations.