Texas river cooter

The Texas river cooter (Pseudemys texana) is a species of freshwater turtle endemic to the U.S. state of Texas. It is found in the river basins of the Brazos, San Bernard, Colorado, Guadalupe, San Antonio, Nueces, and their tributaries. It is one of three species of cooters (Pseudemys) occurring in Texas, including the Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) and the river cooter (Pseudemys concinna).^[3]

Texas river cooter
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Emydidae
Genus:	Pseudemys
Species:	P. texana
Binomial name
Pseudemys texana Baur, 1893
Synonyms[2]
Pseudemys texana Baur, 1893 Chrysemys texana Ditmars, 1907 Pseudemys floridana texana Carr, 1938 Pseudemys concinna texana Conant, 1958 Chrysemys concinna texana Smith & Taylor, 1966 Chrysemys concinna texaba Gosławski & Hryniewicz, 1993 (ex errore)

Description

Texas cooter (Pseudemys texana) left, and red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta) right, basking in the Colorado River, Travis County, Texas (12 April 2012).

The Texas river cooter is a relatively large turtle, capable of growing to a shell length of 12+ inches (30.5 cm). They are green in color, with yellow and black markings that fade with age. Males can be distinguished from females by their longer tails, longer claws, and overall smaller size.

Taxonomy

The Texas cooter was once reclassified to a subspecies of the eastern cooter, Pseudemys concinna, but was given full species status in 1991.

Similar species

The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) shares its range and habits, but can easily be distinguished from the Texas cooter by red patches on either side of its head. Various species of map turtle can also look much like juvenile Texas cooters.