The Florida red-bellied cooter or Florida redbelly turtle (''Pseudemys nelsoni'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of turtle in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Emydidae Emydidae (Latin ''emys'' (freshwater tortoise) + Ancient Greek εἶδος (''eîdos'', “appearance, resemblance”)) is a family of testudines (turtles) that includes close to 50 species in 10 genera. Members of this family are commonly calle ...

Etymology

The specific name, ''nelsoni'', is in honor of American biologist George Nelson (born 1873).

Geographic range

''P. nelsoni'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and southern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Fossils of ''P. nelsoni'' have also been found along the coast of South Carolina from the Pleistocene Epoch, indicating that the historic range of this species used to extend further north. Today, its northern counterpart, the

Northern Red-bellied Cooter The northern red-bellied turtle (''Pseudemys rubriventris'') or American red-bellied turtle is a species of turtle in the Pseudemys (cooter) genus of the family Emydidae. Description A fairly large river turtle, it averages about in length and ...

(''Psuedemys rubriventris'') occupies this region.

Biology

The Florida redbelly cooter is mainly

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

, and can be found in nearly any type of aquatic habitat. It feeds on a variety of aquatic plants including waterweed (''

Vallisneria ''Vallisneria'' (named in honor of Antonio Vallisneri) is a genus of freshwater aquatic plant, commonly called eelgrass, tape grass or vallis. The genus is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Nor ...

'' and ''

Elodea ''Elodea'' is a genus of 6 species of aquatic plants often called the waterweeds described as a genus in 1803. Classified in the frog’s-bit family ( Hydrocharitaceae), ''Elodea'' is native to the Americas and is also widely used as aquarium ve ...

''), duckweed (''

Lemna ''Lemna'' is a genus of free-floating aquatic plants referred to by the common name "duckweed". They are morphologically divergent members of the arum family Araceae. These rapidly growing plants have found uses as a model system for studies in ...

'' and ''

Wolffia ''Wolffia'' is a genus of aquatic plants with a cosmopolitan distribution. They include the smallest flowering plants on Earth. Commonly called watermeal or duckweed, these aquatic plants resemble specks of cornmeal floating on the water. Indivi ...

''), and arrowhead (''

Sagittaria ''Sagittaria'' is a genus of about 303. Sagittaria Linnaeus
''

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

water. It appears to have an intermediate salinity tolerance compared to true freshwater forms and the highly specialized terrapin ('' Malachemys''). This species is active year-round and spends a large portion of the day basking on logs. They are noted for sometimes laying their eggs in the nest mounds of

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

s. Sex is temperature-dependent with males being born at cooler temperatures and females being born at warmer temperatures with a pivotal temperature of about 28.5 °C. The Florida redbelly is closely related to the Peninsula cooter ('' Pseudemys floridana'') and can often be found basking on logs together.

Description

The Florida redbelly can be distinguished from other similar turtles by its distinctive red-tinged plastron (belly) and two cusps (like teeth) on its upper beak. Like most ''Pseudemys'' turtles, this species is a fairly large river turtle. Carapace length in mature turtles can range from . Females, which average in carapace length and weigh , are noticeably larger than males, which are around and in mass.

Export

Florida redbellies are commonly exported for

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

and the

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...

trade, with about 50% wild caught individuals and 50% captive bred. Most of US export statistics (as collected by the World Chelonian Trust in 2002–2005) simply describe exported turtles by the genus, ''Pseudemys'', without identifying the species. They are exported by the million, and are mostly farm-raised.Declared Turtle Trade From the United States - ''Pseudemys sp.''
/ref> Florida Redbelly Turtle (Pseudemys nelsoni)

Florida Redbelly Turtle (Pseudemys nelsoni)

References

External links

Florida red-bellied cooter
Southeast Ecological Science Center.