Pseudemys

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iPseudemys

Pseudemys nelsoni

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Subclass:	Anapsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Emydidae
Genus:	Pseudemys Gray, 1855

Species

Pseudemys alabamensis
Pseudemys concinna
Pseudemys floridana
Pseudemys gorzugi
Pseudemys nelsoni
Pseudemys peninsularis
Pseudemys rubriventris
Pseudemys suwanniensis
Pseudemys texana

Pseudemys is a genus of pond turtles also known as Cooter Turtles, especially in the state of Florida. (The word "cooter" may be used to refer to snapping turtles of the Chelydridae family elsewhere in the southeastern United States.) Cooter stems from kuta, the word for turtle in the Bambara and Malinké languages, brought to America by African slaves.

Florida cooter

[edit] Description

The river cooter is a fairly large turtle (up to 12 inches) often observed basking on rocks and logs along the banks or in rivers. The olive or brown carapace is slightly flared posteriorly and often highlighted with lighter markings. On the river cooter, a light, backward-facing C-shaped mark on the second scute on each side of the carapace can be used to distinguish it from the Florida cooter turtle. The underside of some marginals are marked by doughnut-shaped dark spots with light centers. The plastron and bridge have dark markings, particularly along the seams between scutes. The head and neck have numerous yellow "hairpin" stripes. The postorbital stripe is not as broad as in the slider turtle, with which it might be confused. Males have straight, elongated foreclaws. Female river cooters lay about 20 eggs in May to June. This species is predominantly herbivorous.