American Red-bellied Turtle
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| American Red-bellied Turtle | ||||||||||||||
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| Pseudemys rubriventris (LeConte, 1829) |
The American Red-bellied Turtle (Pseudemys rubriventris) is a species of turtle in the Emydidae family. 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, Virgina and North Carolina.
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 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.
[edit] Source
- 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, Pittsburg, PA.
