Alabama red-bellied cooter

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Alabama red-bellied cooter
Alabama red-bellied turtle US FWS cropped.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Emydidae
Genus: Pseudemys
Species:
P. alabamensis
Binomial name
Pseudemys alabamensis
(Baur, 1893) [1]
Pseudemys alabamensis range.png
Alabama red-bellied cooter range [3]
Synonyms [4]
  • Pseudemys alabamensisBaur, 1893
  • Chrysemys ababamensisDitmars, 1907(ex errore)
  • Pseudemys rubriventris alabamensisStejneger, 1938
  • Chrysemys rubriventris alabamensisObst, 1983

The Alabama red-bellied cooter (Pseudemys alabamensis) or Alabama red-bellied turtle, is native to Alabama. [1] [2] It belongs to the turtle family Emydidae, the pond turtles. It is the official reptile of the state of Alabama. [5]

Contents

Life history

The red-belly inhabits the fresh to brackish waters of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta in Mobile and Baldwin counties. [2] It feeds on aquatic vegetation [6] and can be found sunning itself on logs. Nesting of the red-bellied turtle occurs from May through July. Female turtles lay their eggs on dry land, digging nests in sandy soil, where 4 to 9 eggs are laid. Hatchlings usually emerge during the summer. When the turtles nest in late July, hatchlings may overwinter in the nest and emerge the following spring.[ citation needed ]

A mature female can be 14 inches (360 mm), while a mature male can be 12 inches (300 mm). [6]

Location

As of June 2009 the turtle has been seen in the central part of Alabama, in the Elmore County region.[ citation needed ]

This turtle has also been found in south-eastern Mississippi, [7] in Harrison and Jackson counties. [6]

Protection

In 2007, a 3.4 miles (5.5 km) chain-link fence has been constructed along part of the US 98 causeway (Battleship Parkway) that separates the Mobile-Tensaw delta from Mobile Bay. [8] Hatchling deaths dropped 80% from 2007 to 2008.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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Pseudemys is a genus of large, herbivorous, freshwater turtles of the eastern United States and adjacent northeast Mexico. They are often referred to as cooters, which stems from kuta, the word for turtle in the Bambara and Malinké languages, brought to America by enslaved people from Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida red-bellied cooter</span> Species of turtle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas river cooter</span> Species of turtle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal plain cooter</span> Species of turtle

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (31 December 2011). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 5: 000.181. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (1996). "Pseudemys alabamensis". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . IUCN. 1996: e.T18458A97296493. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T18458A8295960.en . Listed as Endangered (EN B1+2c v2.3)
  3. U.S. Geological Survey (2017). "Alabama Red-bellied Cooter (Pseudemys alabamensis) rARBCx_CONUS_2001v1 Range Map". Gap Analysis Project. doi:10.5066/F7Z31XTN.
  4. Fritz Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 192. doi: 10.3897/vz.57.e30895 . S2CID   87809001.
  5. "Official Alabama Reptile". Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors. Alabama Department of Archives & History. 12 July 2001. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2007.
  6. 1 2 3 "Alabama – Great Days Outdoors Magazine Fishing, Hunting – Dedicated to Sportsmen and Their Families". Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  7. Southern Wonder: Alabama's Surprising Biodiversity by R. Scot Duncan, University of Alabama Press, 2013, page 367, ISBN   9780817357504
  8. "Turtle protectors on the Causeway – BaldwinReport.com". baldwinreport.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014.