24-8-2016 ATOCHA ESTACION, MADRID - FALSE MAP TURTLE (Graptemys pseudogeographica)

The False map turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica) is a species of freshwater turtle that is found in the United States. It is occasionally called "sawback", in reference to the serrated keels on its shell.

Population size

Unknown

Life Span

30-50 years

Weight

1-1.8

kglbs

kg lbs 

Length

9-27

cminch

The False map turtle has a carapace featuring a vertebral row of low spines and is serrated on the posterior rim. The carapace is olive to brown in color with light yellowish markings with dark borders. The plastron color varies from cream to yellow and is patterned with dark lines along the seams in juveniles. The body color of the false map turtle is grayish-brown to blackish and is marked with light brown, yellow, or whitish stripes. The eye can be brown, light yellow, white, or green and is crossed with a dark bar. Narrow hooked marks behind the eye fuse with dorsal lines on the head and neck. Also, small light-colored spots occur below the eye and on the chin.

False map turtles live in large streams of the Missouri and Mississippi River systems, ranging from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, through the Dakotas southward to southwestern Alabama, southern and western Mississippi, and Louisiana. They also occur in several other river systems of Southwest Louisiana and East Texas. False map turtles prefer rivers and large creeks with moderate currents, containing aquatic vegetation, as well as snags or floating logs. They are also comfortable in deep and swift water. They occur in oxbow lakes and sloughs but are absent from lakes, ponds, or small streams.

False map turtles are diurnal reptiles. They are avid baskers, spending many hours during the day in the sun. Basking is important to these turtles, and they may even be found on steep, slippery snags. When with other turtles, they also are very communal, sharing space and using each other for predator-watching, increasing the odds of surviving an attack. False map turtles are active from late March/April to mid-October.