🐢 Mojave desert tortoise vs Greater roadrunner 🐦
The greater roadrunner is about twice as long as the Mojave desert tortoise.
| Row | 🐢 Mojave desert tortoise | 🐦 Greater roadrunner |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the Mojave desert tortoise yet. | no checked number yet | 20 mph32 km/h1 |
| Weight We don't have a checked number for the greater roadrunner yet. | 7.9 to 15 lb3.6 to 6.8 kg2 | no checked number yet |
| Lives We don't have a checked number for the greater roadrunner yet. | 50 to 80 years50 to 80 years2 | no checked number yet |
| Eats The Mojave desert tortoise eats plants; the greater roadrunner eats meat. | grasses, wildflowers and cactus pads | lizards, insects, spiders, small snakes and rodents |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | the Mojave Desert of California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah | the deserts and dry scrub of the southwestern United States and Mexico |
Which one? Mojave desert tortoise or greater roadrunner
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the Mojave desert tortoise yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
Compare two more
Getting the animals ready…
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/desert-tortoise-vs-greater-roadrunner
- 🐢 All about the Mojave desert tortoise
- 🐦 All about the greater roadrunner
- ⚖️ Compare Two
- 🐾 All the animals
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, White Sands National Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, species profile, checked 30 October 2026.