The Pascagoula map turtle (''Graptemys gibbonsi'') 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 ...

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

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 ...

. The species 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 ...

to the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Geographic range

The Pascagoula map turtle is restricted to the

Pascagoula River The Pascagoula River is a river, about 80 miles (130 km) long, in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. The river drains an area of about 8,800 square miles (23,000 km²) and flows into Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico. ...

in the United States. It formerly included a population in the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

, but in 2010, that population was described as a separate species, the

Pearl River map turtle The Pearl River map turtle (''Graptemys pearlensis'') is a species of emydid turtle native to the southern United States. According to a study done in January 2017, the species ''G. pearlensis'' was significantly less abundant in the Pearl River ...

, ''Graptemys pearlensis''.Ennen, Joshua R.; Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Kreiser, Brian R.; Selman, W.; Qualls, Carl P. (2010). "Genetic and Morphological Variation Between Populations of the Pascagoula Map Turtle (''Graptemys gibbonsi'') in the Pearl and Pascagoula Rivers with Description of a New Species". ''Chelonian Conservation and Biology'' 9 (1): 98–113. The Pascagoula map turtle shares its range with the

yellow-blotched map turtle The yellow-blotched map turtle (''Graptemys flavimaculata''), or yellow-blotched sawback, is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae. It is part of the narrow-headed group of map turtles, and is endemic to the southern United States. Conse ...

, ''G. flavimaculata''.

Etymology

The specific name, ''gibbonsi'', is in honor of American

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

"Whit" Gibbons.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Graptemys gibbonsi'', p. 100).

Geographic range

Etymology

References

Further reading