The Texas river cooter (''Pseudemys texana'') is a species of freshwater turtle endemic to the U.S. state of Texas. It is found in the river basins of the Brazos, San Bernard,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, Guadalupe,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Nueces, and their tributaries. It is one of three species of cooters (''

Pseudemys ''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 lang ...

'') occurring in Texas, including the Rio Grande cooter ('' Pseudemys gorzugi'') and the river cooter (''

Pseudemys concinna The river cooter (''Pseudemys concinna'') is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is native to the central and eastern United States, but has been introduced into parts of California, Washington, and British Columbia ...

'').Dixon, James R. (2013). Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas: with Keys, Taxonomic Synopses, Bibliography, and Distribution Maps. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas. viii, 447 pp.

Description

The Texas river cooter is a relatively large turtle, capable of growing to a shell length of 12+ inches (30.5 cm). They are green in color, with yellow and black markings that fade with age. Males can be distinguished from females by their longer tails, longer

claw A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...

s, and overall smaller size.

Taxonomy

The Texas cooter was once reclassified to a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the eastern cooter, ''Pseudemys concinna'', but was given full species status in 1991.

Similar species

The

red-eared slider The red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (''Trachemys scripta elegans'') is a subspecies of the pond slider (''Trachemys scripta''), a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States, ...

(''Trachemys scripta elegans'') shares its range and habits, but can easily be distinguished from the Texas cooter by red patches on either side of its head. Various species of

map turtle ''Graptemys'' is a genus of freshwater turtles containing 14 species, commonly known as map turtles. Crother, B. I. (editor) (2017). Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments ...

can also look much like juvenile Texas cooters.

References

*
Chelonia.org: ''Pseudemys'' care
{{Taxonbar, from=Q747076 Pseudemys Reptiles of the United States Endemic fauna of Texas Reptiles described in 1893 Taxa named by Georg Baur