Mississippi map turtle

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Mississippi map turtle
Schildkroten.jpg
Top: Mississippi Map Turtle; Bottom: False Map Turtle
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: Graptemys
Species:
Subspecies:
G. p. kohnii
Trinomial name
Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii
(Baur, 1890)
Synonyms
  • Malacoclemmys kohnii
    Baur, 1890
  • Graptemys kohnii
    — Baur, 1893
  • Malaclemys lesueurii kohnii
    Siebenrock, 1909
  • Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii
    Stejneger & Barbour, 1917
  • Graptemys pseudogeographica kohni
    Mertens, 1934
  • Graptemys kohni
    Cagle, 1953
  • Malaclemys kohni
    McDowell, 1964
  • Graptemys khonii
    Ferri, 2002 ( ex errore ) [1]
  • Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii
    Rhodin et al., 2010 [2]

The Mississippi map turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii), also known commonly as Kohn's map turtle, [3] is a subspecies of land and water turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. G. p. kohnii is native to the central United States.

Contents

Etymology

The common name, Mississippi map turtle, derives not from the state of Mississippi, but rather from the Mississippi River.[ citation needed ]

The specific name, kohnii, is in honor of amateur naturalist Joseph Gustave Kohn (1837–1906) of New Orleans, Louisiana, who collected the type specimen. [4] [3]

Geographic range

G. p. kohnii is found along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, from Illinois and Missouri southward.[ citation needed ]

Description

The gray carapace of G. p. kohnii is covered in yellow lines which resemble contour lines of a map.[ citation needed ]

Captivity

A Mississippi map turtle swimming inside a tank.

The Mississippi map turtle is a popular pet for aquarists and is very enjoyable to watch.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Graptemys</i> Genus of turtles

Graptemys is a genus of freshwater turtles containing 14 species, commonly known as map turtles. Graptemys are small to medium-sized turtles that are significantly sexually dimorphic, with females in some species attaining as much as twice the length and ten times the mass as males. Depending on the species, adult males range from 7–16 cm (2.75–6.25 in), adult females 10–29.5 cm (4–11.62 in), and hatchlings 2.5–3.8 cm (1–1.5 in), although some sources indicate female Barbour's map turtles grow to 33 cm (13 in) in length. Most species have a distinctive dark pigmented keel that is often notched or serrated running down the center of the carapace and serrated scutes on the rear margin. The head, neck, and limbs exhibit bold patterns of yellow lines and spots against darker green, olive, or black base colors. The patterns on the head can be important characters in identifying the various species. The common name "map turtle" is derived from the intricate patterns on their shells that are suggestive of topographical maps, although the patterns are more apparent in some species than others, and often become obscure in older specimens. Some species are occasionally called "sawbacks", in reference to the serrated keels on their shell.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland slider</span> Subspecies of turtle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-blotched map turtle</span> Species of turtle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-knobbed map turtle</span> Species of turtle

The black-knobbed map turtle, formerly known as the black-knobbed sawback, is a small to medium-sized aquatic turtle with light gray skin. Some of the most distinguishing characteristics of the black-knobbed map turtle, and the Graptemys genus, are the protruding "spikes" on the turtle's carapace. This species inhabits mainly the fall lines of rivers in the Mobile Bay drainage, in Alabama and Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringed map turtle</span> Species of turtle

The ringed map turtle or ringed sawback is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae endemic to the southern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern map turtle</span> Species of turtle

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The crayfish snake, also known commonly as the glossy crayfish snake, the glossy swampsnake, the glossy water snake, and the striped water snake, is a species of semiaquatic snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States, and preys mainly on crayfish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">False map turtle</span> Species of turtle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouachita map turtle</span> Species of turtle

The Ouachita map turtle is a species of turtle belonging to the family Emydidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama map turtle</span> Species of turtle

The Alabama map turtle is a species of emydid turtle native to the southern United States. Differentiation from other turtle species includes a black stripe running down the center of its back with knobs extruding from it, but these projections wear down with age. T.H. Bean and L. Kumlen first collected the Alabama map turtle in July 1876 from a lake near Montgomery, Alabama. Type locality for this species is Montgomery County, Alabama. German zoologist Georg Baur described and named the Alabama map turtle in 1893. The genus Graptemys includes nine species of mostly aquatic turtles.

References

  1. Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 189. doi: 10.3897/vz.57.e30895 . S2CID   87809001.
  2. Species Graptemys pseudogeographica at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 1 2 Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Graptemys kohnii, p. 145).
  4. Baur G (1890). "Two New Species of Tortoises from the South". Science16 (405): 262–263. (Malacoclemmys kohnii, new species, p. 263).

Further reading