LAS VEGAS -- A famous Valley creature and weather predictor has passed away.

Mojave Max, the desert tortoise that represented the county's Desert Conservation Program, died Tuesday.

For the past nine years, students could predict when Max would emerge from brumate -- a reptilian form of hibernation-- marking the end of winter in Las Vegas.

While he has passed, Clark County officials said the Mojave Max Education Program and annual Emergence Contest will continue. They plan to choose a successor to Max in the fall.

Mojave Max was 65 years old.

For more information about the program, visit the Mojave Max Web site.