Malaclemys Gray 1844, Cat. Tort. Croc. Amphisb. British Mus. :28.

TYPE SPECIES: Testudo concentrica Shaw 1802 (=Testudo terrapin Schoepf 1793), by monotypy.
DISTRIBUTION: As for the single species.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: US.
COMMON NAME: Diamondback terrapin.

Malaclemys terrapin (Schoepf 1793), Hist. Testud. Icon. Illustr. :64.

ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo terrapin.
TYPE: Not designated.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Habitat in America septentrionali. . .in foris Philadelphiae. . .in aquis fubdulcibus Infulae Longae capto. . ."; restricted by Schmidt 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., ed. 6:95, to "coastal waters of Long Island," New York, U.S.A.
DISTRIBUTION: Coastal estuaries and marshes from Massachusetts to southern Texas, U.S.A.
COMMENT: References to this species in Mexico are erroneous, according to Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:524. Reviewed by Ernst and Bury 1982, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 299:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: US.
COMMON NAME: Diamondback terrapin.

Pseudemys Gray 1855, Cat. Shield Rept. British Mus. 1:33.

TYPE SPECIES: Testudo concinna Le Conte 1830 [1829], by subsequent designation of Stejneger and Barbour 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept. :119.
DISTRIBUTION: Eastern and central North America.
COMMENT: A great deal of controversy exists in the literature concerning the relationship of turtles in the Chrysemys-Pseudemys-Trachemys complex; with different authors lumping the species under one genus or separating them into several genera or subgenera. Wermuth and Mertens 1977, Das Tierreich 100:52-61, seldom give justifications for their taxonomic arrangement of species within this group and it conflicts extensively with recent revisions. Ward 1984, Sp. Publ. Mus. Texas Tech. Univ. 21:1-50, recognized the subgenera Pseudemys and Ptychemys. After thoroughly reviewing both the taxonomic history and available systematic data, Seidel and Smith 1986, Herpetologica 42(2):242-248, recognized Chrysemys, Pseudemys, and Trachemys as separate genera and pointed out that these taxa are as separable from each other as they are from Graptemys.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel, G. Zug.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX, US.
COMMON NAME: Cooters, Redbelly turtles, Sliders.

Pseudemys alabamensis Baur 1893, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc. 31:224.

TYPES: 2 Syntypes: USNM 20966 and 20967.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Mobile, Ala." (=Mobile, Alabama), U.S.A.
DISTRIBUTION: Mobile Bay, Alabama, U.S.A.
COMMENT: Subgenus Ptychemys according to Ward 1984, Sp. Publ. Mus. Texas Tech. Univ. 21:43. Referred to as Pseudemys rubriventris alabamensis by Wermuth and Mertens 1961, Schildkr. Krok. Brücken. :149, and 1977, Das Tierreich, 100:57; and Obst 1983, Schmuckschildkr. Gatt. Chrysemys. 112 p. Reviewed by McCoy and Vogt 1985, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 371:1-2.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
STATUS: Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:37-38, and listed as Indeterminate.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: US.
COMMON NAME: Alabama redbelly turtle.

Pseudemys concinna (Le Conte 1830 [1829]), Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York 3:106.

ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo concinna.
TYPE: Not designated.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Inhabits in the rivers of Georgia and Carolina, where the beds are rocky. I have never seen them below Augusta on the Savannah, or Columbia on the Congaree"; restricted by Schmidt 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., ed. 6:101, to the "vicinity of Columbia, South Carolina," U.S.A.
DISTRIBUTION: Southeastern U.S.A., extreme southeastern New Mexico to southeastern Kansas, Virginia and Florida; and northeastern Coahuila, Mexico.
COMMENT: Subgenus Pseudemys according to Ward 1984, Sp. Publ. Mus. Texas Tech. Univ. 21:26-40. Reviewed by Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:441-449, and Seidel 1981, Brimleyana 6:25-44. Until Ward 1984, Sp. Pub. Mus. Texas Tech Univ. 21:1-50, clarified its distinctiveness, some authors found it difficult to separate this form from Pseudemys floridana (see Fahey 1980, Tulane Stud. Zool. Bot. 22:49-66). See also Obst 1983, Schmuckschildkr. Gatt. Chrysemys 112 p.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX, US.
COMMON NAME: River cooter.

Pseudemys floridana (Le Conte 1830 [1829]), Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York 3:100.

ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo floridana.
TYPE: Unknown.
TYPE LOCALITY: "St. John's River of East Florida," U.S.A.
DISTRIBUTION: Southeastern U.S.A., Alabama to Florida and north to Virginia.
COMMENT: Subgenus Pseudemys according to Ward 1984, Sp. Publ. Mus. Texas Tech. Univ. 21:40-42. See also Obst 1983, Schmuckschildkr. Gatt. Chrysemys 112 p., and comment under Pseudemys concinna.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: US.
COMMON NAME: Cooter, Florida cooter.

Pseudemys nelsoni Carr 1938, Occ. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 8:307.

TYPE: Holotype: MCZ 39888.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Fellsmere, Indian River County, Florida," U.S.A.
DISTRIBUTION: Peninsular Florida and extreme southeastern Georgia, U.S.A.
COMMENT: Subgenus Ptychemys according to Ward 1984, Sp. Publ. Mus. Texas Tech. Univ. 21:43-45. Referred to as Pseudemys rubriventris nelsoni by Wermuth and Mertens 1977, Das Tierreich 100:58; Obst 1983, Schmuckschildkr. Gatt. Chrysemys :1-112. Reviewed by Jackson 1978, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 210:1-2.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: US.
COMMON NAME: Florida redbelly turtle.

Pseudemys rubriventris (Le Conte 1830 [1829]), Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York 3:101.

ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo rubriventris.
TYPE: Not traced; perhaps originally in the ANSP.
TYPE LOCALITY: "in rivers from New-Jersey to Virginia"; stated as "Delaware River, near Trenton, New Jersey," U.S.A., by Schmidt 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., ed. 6:103.
DISTRIBUTION: From central New Jersey to northeastern North Carolina; also eastern Massachusetts, U.S.A.
COMMENT: Subgenus Ptychemys according to Ward 1984, Sp. Publ. Mus. Texas Tech. Univ. 21:46. See also Obst 1983, Schmuckschildkr. Gatt. Chrysemys 112 p., and comments under Pseudemys alabamensis and P. nelsoni.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
STATUS: U.S.A. Endangered Species Act: the Massachusetts population, Pseudemys rubriventris bangsi (Babcock 1937), is listed as Endangered; this population also was evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:47-49, and listed as Rare.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: US.
COMMON NAME: Redbelly turtle, American redbelly turtle.

Pseudemys texana Baur 1893, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc. 31:223.

TYPE: Holotype: ANSP 246.
TYPE LOCALITY: San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.
DISTRIBUTION: The Colorado, Brazos, Guadalupe, and San Antonio river drainages of central Texas, U.S.A.
COMMENT: Subgenus Ptychemys. Reviewed by Ward 1984, Sp. Publ. Mus. Texas Tech. Univ. 21:45-46.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: US.
COMMON NAME: Texas cooter.

Terrapene Merrem 1820, Tent. Syst. Amph. :27.

TYPE SPECIES: Testudo clausa Gmelin 1789 (=Testudo carolina Linnaeus 1758), by subsequent designation of Bell 1828, Zool. J. London 3:514.
DISTRIBUTION: Temperate and tropical North America.
COMMENT: Two basic groups recognized, carolina and ornata. See Milstead 1969, Bull. Florida State Mus. Biol. Sci. 14(1):1-113, for synonymies, review, and discussion of phylogeny, and definition of species groups. Genus and species reviewed by Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:542-602.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX, US.
COMMON NAME: Box turtles.

Terrapene carolina (Linnaeus 1758), Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1:198.

ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo carolina.
TYPE: Unknown.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Carolina"; restricted by Schmidt 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., ed. 6:93, to "vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina," U.S.A.
DISTRIBUTION: Eastern U.S.A. and Mexico; Maine and Michigan to Kansas, south Florida and Texas, separate populations from Nuevo Leon to Veracruz and in the Yucatan Peninsula.
COMMENT: Terrapene carolina group. Reviewed by Milstead 1969, Bull. Florida State Mus. Biol. Sci. 14(1):1-108. Includes Terrapene mexicana and Terrapene yucatana, according to Milstead 1967, Copeia (1):168-179.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX, US.
COMMON NAME: Eastern box turtle, Common box turtle.

Terrapene coahuila Schmidt and Owens 1944. Illustration by Urs Woy. Copyright © 1989, 1997 Association of Systematics Collections.

Terrapene coahuila Schmidt and Owens 1944, Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. 29:101.

TYPE: Holotype: FMNH 41234 (incorrectly cited as FMNH 55656 by Milstead 1969, Bull. Florida St. Mus., Biol. Sci. 14(1):81).
TYPE LOCALITY: "Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila," Mexico.
DISTRIBUTION: Known only from the vicinity of the type locality.
COMMENT: Terrapene carolina group. Reviewed by Iverson 1982, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 288:1-2, and Brown 1974, Bull. Florida State Mus. Biol. Sci. 19(1):1-67.
STATUS: CITES: Appendix I; U.S.A. Endangered Species Act:Endangered. Evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt.1:57-59, and listed as Vulnerable. See Honegger 1985, In: Dollinger, CITES Ident. Manual 3: A-301.007.031.002:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX.
COMMON NAME: Coahuila box turtle, Aquatic box turtle.

Terrapene nelsoni Stejneger 1925, J. Washington Acad. Sci. 15:463.

TYPE: Holotype: USNM 46252.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Pedro Pablo, Tepic [Nayarit], Mexico".
DISTRIBUTION: Mexico, central Sonora to northern Nayarit.
COMMENT: Terrapene ornata group. Reviewed by Milstead and Tinkle 1967, Copeia (1):180-187, and Iverson 1982, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 289:1-2.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX.
COMMON NAME: Nelson's box turtle, Spotted box turtle, Mexican black box turtle.

Terrapene ornata (Agassiz 1857), Contrib. Nat. Hist. U.S.A. Testud. 1:445.

ORIGINAL NAME: Cistudo ornata.
TYPES: 6 Syntypes: USNM 7862 (formerly 57), 7541, 131837 (formerly one of two numbered 7541), 7547, 7692, MCZ 1536; MCZ 1536 designated lectotype by Smith and Smith, 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:587.
TYPE LOCALITY: "from the Upper Missouri. . .and from Iowa," U.S.A.; incorrectly restricted to "Council Bluffs, Iowa," by Smith and Taylor 1950, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus. 199:36, and later to "junction of the Platte and Missouri River," Nebraska, by Schmidt 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., ed. 6:95. Restriction corrected to "Burlington, Iowa," by lectotype designation of Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:587.
DISTRIBUTION: Southern Wisconsin to western Indiana, south to Louisiana and southeastern Arizona, U.S.A., and northcentral Mexico.
COMMENT: Terrapene ornata group. Reviewed by Ward 1978, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 217:1-4, and Milstead and Tinkle 1967, Copeia (1):180-187.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: MX, US.
COMMON NAME: Ornate box turtle, Western box turtle.

Trachemys Agassiz 1857, Contrib. Nat. Hist. U.S.A. Testud. 1:233-452.

TYPE SPECIES: Testudo scabra Linnaeus 1758, was designated by Agassiz 1857, but Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:434-438, proposed that the Intl. Comm. Zool. Nomencl. redesignate Emys troosti Holbrook 1836, N. Am. Herpet., ed. 1, 1:55, as the type species.
DISTRIBUTION: Bahamas and Greater Antilles; southeastern U.S.A. through Mexico and Central America to Brazil and Argentina.
COMMENT: A great deal of controversy exists in the literature concerning the relationship of turtles in the Chrysemys-Pseudemys-Trachemys complex -- see comments under Pseudemys. Prior to the revision by Seidel 1988, Am. Mus. Novitates 2918:1-41, there was considerable disagreement over the content of the West Indian species of Trachemys; see Barbour and Carr 1940, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. 54:381-415; Barbour and Carr 1941, Proc. New England Zool. Club 18:57-60; Mertens and Wermuth 1955, Zool. Jahrb. 83(5):366-367; Williams 1956, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:145-160; Schwartz and Thomas 1975, Carnegie Mus. Nat. Hist. Sp. Publ. No. 1:47-48; Inchaustegui 1975, Anuario Acad. Cienc. Republica Dominicana 1(1):149-152; Schwartz and Henderson 1985, Guide Amph. Rept. West Indies :25-26; Seidel and Inchaustegui 1984, J. Herpetol. 18(4):468-479; Seidel and Smith 1986, Herpetologica 42(2):246; and Iverson 1986, Checklist Turt. World :104-110.
CONTRIBUTOR: R. Burke, W. King.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: AR, BS, BR, BZ, CO, CR, CU, DO, GP, GT, HN, HT, IL, JM, KY, MX, NI, PA, US, UY, VE.
COMMON NAME: Slider turtles.

Trachemys decorata (Barbour and Carr 1940), Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. 54:409.

ORIGINAL NAME: Pseudemys decorata.
TYPE: Holotype: MCZ 36862.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Fond Parisien, [Dept. de l'Ouest,] Haiti".
DISTRIBUTION: Hispaniola, the lakes in the Cul de Sac-Valle de Neiba plain in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and isolated populations on the Tiburon Peninsula and coastal Golfe de la Gonave, Haiti.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Seidel 1988, Am. Mus. Novitates 2918:1-41. See also Bickham 1980, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 235:1-2, (as Pseudemys decorata); Seidel and Inchaustegui 1984, J. Herpetol. 18(4):468-479; and Obst 1983, Schmuckschildkr. Gatt. Chrysemys 112 p.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: DO, HT.
COMMON NAME: Hispaniolan slider, Hispaniolan elegant slider, Haitian slider, Jicotea.

Trachemys decussata (Gray 1831), Synops. Rept. :28.

ORIGINAL NAME: Emys decussata.
TYPE: Holotype: BMNH 1947.3.4.79.
TYPE LOCALITY: "America Boreali".
DISTRIBUTION: Cuba and Isla Juventud (=Isle of Pines), and the Cayman Islands.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Seidel 1988, Am. Mus. Novitates 2918:1-41. Contains T. d. decussata and T. d. angusta.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: CU, KY.
COMMON NAME: North Antillean slider, Cuban slider, Cayman Island slider, Taco River slider, Jicotea.

Trachemys scripta (Schoepf 1792), Hist. Testud. Icon. Illustr. :16.

ORIGINAL NAME: Testudo scripta.
TYPE: Unknown.
TYPE LOCALITY: Unknown; designated as "Charleston, South Carolina," U.S.A., by Schmidt 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., ed. 6:102.
DISTRIBUTION: Eastern and central U.S.A. to Brazil and Argentina; in the U.S.A. from New Jersey, Michigan and Nebraska, south to Florida, Texas, and New Mexico; in the coastal drainages of Mexico from Tamaulipas to Sonora and Baja California south through Central America to northern Colombia and Venezuela; isolated populations in southern and eastern Brazil, Uruguay, and northern Argentina; introduced into California and Arizona, U.S.A.; and on Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles; and in Israel.
COMMENT: Contains Trachemys dorbigni, T. gaigeae, T. grayi, and T. ornata, see Ward 1984, Sp. Publ. Mus. Texas Tech. Univ. 21:46-47; Smith and Smith 1979, Synops. Herpetofauna Mexico Turt. 6:450-523; Moll and Legler 1971, Bull. Los Angeles Co. Mus. Nat. Hist. 11:3-4; and Williams 1956, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:145-160. Reviewed in part by Pritchard and Trebbau 1984, Turt. Venezuela 2:183-196, under Pseudemys scripta. See also Obst 1983, Schmuckschildkr. Gatt. Chrysemys 112 p.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
STATUS: Trachemys scripta callirostris (as Pseudemys) evaluated by Groombridge 1982, IUCN Amph. Rept. Red Data Book, Pt. 1:51-52, and listed as Vulnerable.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: AR, BR, CO, CR, GP, GT, HN, IL, MX, NI, PA, UR, US, VE.
COMMON NAME: Common slider.

Trachemys stejnegeri (Schmidt 1928), Sci. Survey Porto Rico Virgin Isl.:147.

ORIGINAL NAME: Pseudemys stejnegeri.
TYPE: Holotype: USNM 25642.
TYPE LOCALITY: "San Juan, Porto Rico" (=San Juan, Puerto Rico).
DISTRIBUTION: Cuba and Isla de Juventud (=Isla de Pinos), northern and eastern Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Great Inagua Island, Bahamas; introduced on Marie Galante.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Seidel 1988, Am. Mus. Novitates 2918:1-41. Includes malonei and vicina. See comments under Trachemys.
CONTRIBUTOR: R. Burke, W. King.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: BS, DO, HT, PR.
COMMON NAME: Central Antillean slider, Puerto Rican slider, Jicotea.

Trachemys terrapen (Lacépède 1788), Hist. Nat. Quadrup. Ovip. Serp. 1:129.

ORIGINAL NAME: [Testudo] terrapen.
TYPE: None designated.
TYPE LOCALITY: "On la trouve aux Antilles & particulierement a la Jamaique. . .tres commune dans les lacs," (=the lakes of Jamaica).
DISTRIBUTION: Jamaica and Bahamas.
COMMENT: Reviewed by Seidel 1988, Am. Mus. Novitates 2918:1-41, who considered T. felis to represent introduced populations of T. terrapen in the Bahamas. See also Williams 1956, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 115:157; Schwartz 1968, Ann. Carnegie Mus. 39(17):259, 286; and Pritchard 1979, Encycl. Turt. :124. See comments under Trachemys.
CONTRIBUTOR: R. Burke, W. King.
REVIEWER: M. Seidel.
GEOGRAPHIC CODE: JM.
COMMON NAME: Jamaican slider.

[Top of This Page] --- [Next Page] --- [Table of Contents] --- [Index Search]