Northern red-bellied cooter

Northern red-bellied cooter
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Emydidae
Subfamily:	Deirochelyinae
Genus:	Pseudemys
Species:	P. rubriventris
Binomial name
Pseudemys rubriventris[1] (LeConte, 1830)[1] Testudo rubriventris LeConte, 1830 Terrapene rubriventris Bonaparte, 1830 Emys irrigata Bell, 1835 Emys irrigita Duméril & Bibron, 1835 (ex errore) Emys rubriventris Duméril & Bibron, 1835 Clemmys (Clemmys) rubriventris Fitzinger, 1835 Chrysemys rubriventris Boulenger, 1889 Pseudemys rubriventris Baur, 1893 Pseudemys rubriventris bangsi Babcock, 1937 Pseudemys rubriventris rubriventris Babcock, 1937 Chrysemys rubriventris rubriventris Weaver & Rose, 1967 Chrysemys rubriventris bangsi Ernst & Barbour, 1972 Pseudemys bangsi Collins, 1991 Chrysemys rubriventris fubriventris Gosławski & Hryniewicz, 1993 (ex errore)

The northern red-bellied turtle (Pseudemys rubriventris)^[1] or American red-bellied turtle is a species of turtle in the Pseudemys (cooter) genus of the Emydidae family.

A fairly large river turtle, it averages about 29 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in) in length and weighs on average around 3 kg (6.6 lb), although large females can measure up to 40 cm (16 in) in length.^[2] It is endemic to the United States. The current range of the red-bellied turtle includes a colony in Massachusetts which was previously a separate species (Pseudemys rubriventris bangsii) as well as the coastal areas of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

A northern red-bellied cooter in Long Pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts in July 2016.

The red-bellied turtle has appeared on Pennsylvania Fish Commission lists of endangered amphibians and reptiles since 1978 (McCoy 1985). By 1985 the red-bellied turtle was known to exist in Pennsylvania only in isolated colonies in a few counties (McCoy 1985). Small (less than thirty individuals) colonies were known in Manor and Silver lakes in Bucks county, the Tinicum wetlands in Philadelphia and Delaware counties, the West Branch of Conococheague Creek in Franklin County and possibly Springton Reservoir in Delaware county (McCoy 1985). The red-bellied turtle is a threatened^[3] species within Pennsylvania. However, it is listed as "Endangered" by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.^[4]

The potential threats to red-bellied turtle populations are numerous. For example: wetland loss, habitat fragmentation, pollution, collecting of turtles for pets, food or other trophies, competition with the invasive red-eared slider turtle for food, habitat, basking sites or nesting sites, and the potential for hybridization with red-eared slider turtles.

The Massachusetts wildlife preserve foundation has started to repopulate the turtles by placing them in many south-eastern Massachusetts ponds. One example is at Long and Little Long Pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the population is starting to regrow.

References

• Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group 1996. Pseudemys rubriventris. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 29 July 2007.
• http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wrcf/rbturt.aspx
• http://www.dgif.state.va.us/wildlife/species/display.asp?id=030057
• McCoy, C. J. 1985. Species of Special Concern in Pennsylvania, in H. H. Genoways and F. J. Brenner, editors. Special Publication of Carnegie Museum of Natural Pennsylvania. Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA.
• http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dfg/nhesp/species-and-conservation/nhfacts/pseudemys-rubriventris.pdf

Bibliography

• Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Inverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley (2010-12-14). "Turtles of the World 2010 Update: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution and Conservation Status". Archived from the original (pdf) on 2010-12-15. 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pseudemys rubriventris.

Family Emydidae (pond turtles)
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Testudines Suborder: Cryptodira Superfamily: Testudinoidea Family: Emydidae
Genus	Species of the subfamily Deirochelyinae
Chrysemys	Painted turtle
Deirochelys	Chicken turtle
Graptemys	Alabama map turtle Barbour's map turtle Black-knobbed map turtle Cagle's map turtle Escambia map turtle False map turtle Northern map turtle Ouachita map turtle Pascagoula map turtle Pearl River map turtle Ringed map turtle Texas map turtle Yellow-blotched map turtle
Malaclemys	Diamondback terrapin
Pseudemys	Alabama red-bellied cooter Northern red-bellied cooter Florida red-bellied cooter Peninsula cooter Rio Grande cooter River cooter Texas river cooter
Trachemys	Big bend slider Baja California slider Central Antillean slider Colombian slider Cuatro Cienegas slider Cuban slider D'Orbigny's slider Hispaniolan slider Jamaican slider Maranhão slider Meso-American slider Nicaraguan slider Ornate slider Pond slider Yaqui slider
	Species of the subfamily Emydinae
Clemmys	Spotted turtle
Emys	Blanding's turtle European pond turtle Sicilian pond turtle Western pond turtle
Glyptemys	Bog turtle Wood turtle
Terrapene	Coahuilan box turtle Common box turtle Ornate box turtle Spotted box turtle
Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2011 update: annotated checklist. Subspecies and the extinct (Gyremys sectabilis) are not included.