The coastal plain cooter (''Pseudemys floridana'') or Florida cooter 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 appropriat ...

of large herbivorous freshwater

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

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 lan ...

''.

Biology

The species is found within the southeastern coastal plain of the United States, from extreme southeastern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

southward through all 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 ...

and westward to the vicinity of Mobile Bay, Alabama. The nominate race (''P. f. floridana'') occupies most of the species' geographic range but is replaced in the Florida peninsula by the

peninsula cooter The peninsula cooter (''Pseudemys peninsularis'') is a species of freshwater turtle in the genus ''Pseudemys''. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the coastal plain cooter (''P. floridana'') when that turtle is not itself considered a su ...

(''Pseudemys peninsularis''), which is primarily distinguished by differences in head markings. Both races can be distinguished from sympatric ''Pseudemys'' species by the immaculate yellow color of their plastrons and the lack of a U-shaped cusp in the upper jaw (characteristic of the Florida redbelly turtle). The carapace length of the size ranges from typically and the normal weigh is (in the slightly larger females) . The record sized female measured in carapace length. The 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 mouthpar ...

and inhabits lakes, sloughs, ponds, slow-flowing streams, and other still bodies of water with soft bottoms and abundant aquatic vegetation. However, it can be found in high densities in some Florida spring runs, usually in heavily vegetated areas with little flow. This species is active year-round and spends a large portion of the day basking on logs. Coastal cooters are frequently

exported An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

for consumption 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 60% wild caught individuals and 40% captive bred. Recent protection by many southeastern states has curbed this exploitation but illegal harvest for local consumption may still threaten some populations.

Gallery

image:Floridacooter2.jpg, side shot image:Floridacooter.jpg , front shot

References

*Ernst, C.H., R.W. Barbour and J.E. Lovich. 1994. ''Turtles of the United States and Canada''. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press. *Hubbs, C. 1995. Springs and spring runs as unique aquatic systems. ''Copeia''. 1995(4): 989–991. *Reed, R.N. and J.W. Gibbons. 2004. Conservation status of live U.S. nonmarine turtles in domestic and international trade – a report to: U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Aiken, SC, Savannah River Ecology Lab: 1-92. ;Bibliography * {{Taxonbar, from=Q598997 Pseudemys fr:Pseudemys floridana ja:ペニンシュラクーター ru:Полуостровная черепаха