Graptemys
False map turtle, Graptemys pseudogeographica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Emydidae
Subfamily:	Deirochelyinae
Genus:	Graptemys Agassiz, 1857[1]
Species
13, see text
Synonyms[1]
None

Graptemys is a genus of aquatic, freshwater turtles known commonly as map turtles or sometimes sawback turtles, endemic to North America.

Geographic range[edit]

They are found throughout the eastern half of the United States and northward into southern Canada.

Description[edit]

They superficially resemble many other species of aquatic turtles, including sliders (Trachemys) and cooters (Pseudemys). However, they are distinguished by a keel that runs the length of the center of the carapace. They also typically grow to a smaller size at maturity. They are given the common name "map turtle" due to the map-like markings on the carapace.

Courtship behavior[edit]

Adult Graptemys males have greatly elongated claws on the front feet, which are used in courtship behavior. The male faces the considerably larger female and "fans" her face, vibrating his foreclaws against her head to induce her to cooperate in mating.^[2]

Longevity[edit]

Average life expectancy of map turtles ranges from 15 to 100 years, depending on species.

Pet trade[edit]

Throughout the pet trade, Mississippi, common, and Ouachita map turtles were bred and hatched out by the thousands in the 1970s. Various other turtles were available, but as the salmonellosis Four-inch Law was established, map turtles and others slowly decreased in popularity. Today, these same three still hold the title for most common among the pet trade. Other species being captive-bred more often include the Texas map turtle, Cagle's map turtle, and the black-knobbed map turtle. Some harder-to-find map turtles include the yellow-blotched map turtle and the Pearl River map turtle.

Species[edit]

(Listed alphabetically)^[3]

• Graptemys barbouri Carr & Marchland, 1942 – Barbour's map turtle
• Graptemys caglei Haynes & McKown, 1974 – Cagle's map turtle
• Graptemys ernsti Lovich & McCoy, 1992 – Escambia map turtle
• Graptemys flavimaculata Cagle, 1954 – yellow-blotched map turtle or yellow-blotched sawback
• Graptemys geographica ( Le Sueur, 1817) – northern map turtle, formerly known as the common map turtle
• Graptemys gibbonsi Lovich & McCoy, 1992 – Pascagoula map turtle
• Graptemys nigrinoda Cagle, 1954 – black-knobbed map turtle
• Graptemys oculifera (Baur, 1890) – ringed map turtle
• Graptemys ouachitensis Cagle, 1953 – Ouachita map turtle
• Graptemys pearlensis Ennen, Lovich, Kreiser, Selman, Qualls, 2010 – Pearl River map turtle^[4]
• Graptemys pseudogeographica (Gray, 1831) – false map turtle
  • G. p. kohnii (Baur, 1890) – Mississippi map turtle
  • G. p. pseudogeographica Gray, 1831 – false map turtle
• Graptemys pulchra Baur, 1893 – Alabama map turtle
• Graptemys versa Stejneger, 1925 – Texas map turtle

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• An Overview of Map Turtles in the United States, Reptile & Amphibian Magazine, November/December 1993, p. 6-17.
• ARKive - images and videos of the Cagle's map turtle (Graptemys caglei)
• Ouachita map turtle - Graptemys ouachitensis Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide.
• False map turtle - Graptemys pseudogeographica Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide.
• Common map turtle - Graptemys geographica Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide.

Further reading[edit]

• Agassiz, L. Contributions to the Natural History of the United States of America. Vol. I. Little, Brown and Company. Boston. li + 452 pp. (Genus Graptemys, p. 252.)

• Smith, H.M., and E.D. Brodie, Jr. 1982. Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Golden Press. New York. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3 (paperback). (Genus Graptemys, p. 48, including identification key to species.)

Turtles portal

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.