Barbour's map turtle (''Graptemys barbouri'') 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 t ...

in the

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

Emydidae. The species is native to the southeastern

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 territori ...

Geographic range

''G. barbouri'' is found in

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s located in southeastern

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, the western panhandle of

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 southwestern

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 ...

Etymology

The specific name or epithet, ''barbouri'', 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 rep ...

Thomas Barbour Thomas Barbour (August 19, 1884 – January 8, 1946) was an American herpetologist. From 1927 until 1946, he was director of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) founded in 1859 by Louis Agassiz at Harvard University in Cambridge, ...

.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Graptemys barbouri'', p. 16).

Ownership

Owning Barbour's map turtle is illegal in Georgia,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and Alabama. The limit is two turtles per person in Florida. Like all map turtles, it is under the protection of the

Salmonellosis Salmonellosis, more commonly known as food poisoning is a symptomatic infection caused by bacteria of the ''Salmonella'' type. It is also a food-borne disease and are defined as diseases, usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by a ...

Four-inch Regulation, disallowing ''G. barbouri'' to be sold if it is under the length of 4 in (10 cm).

Description

Adult male Barbour's map turtles are on average 3.5 to 5.5 in (9–14 cm) in straight-line carapace length. Adult females are much larger and can vary from 6 to 12.5 in (15 – 32 cm) in straight-line carapace length. "Females attain really imposing dimensions, and their heads are enormously enlarged". Conant, Roger (1975). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + 48 plates. (hardcover), (paperback). (''Graptemys barbouri'', p. 55 + Plates 5, 8 + Map 18). ''G. barbouri'' possesses black-tipped spines on the second, third, and fourth vertebral scutes. These spines are very noticeable in males, and resemble a

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

Diet

Barbour's map turtle mainly consumes

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s, and small

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

found in rivers.

References

External links

*Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (1996).
''Graptemys barbouri''

2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Retrieved 29 July 2007. *Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resource

{{Taxonbar, from=Q305947 Reptiles of the United States barbouri Reptiles described in 1942 Taxa named by Archie Carr Taxonomy articles created by Polbot