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Reptilia    Testudines    Emydidae  

Northern Map Turtle
Graptemys geographica (LeSueur, 1817)

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.11.14.07.56.59)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 7.67 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Lake Erie Tortoise (Testudo geographica: Le Sueur, C. A. 1817. An account of an American species of Tortoise, not noticed in the systems. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 1:348-359 1(1):86-88); Lake Erie Terrapin (Emys lesueurii: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); Lake Erie Tortoise (Emys geographica: Griffith, Edward and Edward Pidgeon. 1831. The class reptilia arranged by the Baron Cuvier, with specific descriptions. Part 2. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London. 1-481pp.); Geographic Tortoise (Emys geographica: De Kay, James E. 1842. Zoology of New-York, or, The New-York Fauna: Comprising Detailed Descriptions of All the Animals Hitherto Observed within the State of New-York, with Brief Notices of those Occasionally Found Near its Borders, and Accompanied by Appropriate Illustrations. Volume 1, Part 3 (Reptiles and Amphibians). W. & A. White & J. Visscher, Albany, New York. pp.); Geographic Emys (Emys geographica: Gray, John E. 1856. Catalogue of shield reptiles in the collection of the British Museum. Part I. Testudinata (Tortoises). Taylor and Francis, London, England. 79pp.); Map Turtle (Malacoclemmys geographicus: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Geographical Terrapin (Malacoclemmys geographicus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Le Sueur's Terrapin (Malacoclemmys le sueuri: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Geographic Terrapin (Malaclemys geographica: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Map Tortoise (Malaclemys geographica: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Geographic Tortoise (Malacoclemmys geographicus: Garman, H. 1892. A synopsis of the reptiles and amphibians of Illinois. Illinois Laboratory of Natural History Bulletin 3():215-403); Map Turtle (Malacoclemmys geographicus: Garman, H. 1892. A synopsis of the reptiles and amphibians of Illinois. Illinois Laboratory of Natural History Bulletin 3():215-403); Map Turtle (Malacoclemmys lesueuri: Garman, H. 1892. A synopsis of the reptiles and amphibians of Illinois. Illinois Laboratory of Natural History Bulletin 3():215-403); Geographic Tortoise (Malacoclemmys lesueuri: Garman, H. 1892. A synopsis of the reptiles and amphibians of Illinois. Illinois Laboratory of Natural History Bulletin 3():215-403); Map Terrapin (Malaclemys geographica: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Le Sueur's Terrapin (Malaclemys lesueuri: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Map Turtle (Malacoclemmys geographica: Drowne, Frederick P. 1905. The reptiles and batrachians of Rhode Island. Monograph of the Roger Williams Park Museum 15():1-24); Geographical Terrapin (Malacoclemmys geographica: Drowne, Frederick P. 1905. The reptiles and batrachians of Rhode Island. Monograph of the Roger Williams Park Museum 15():1-24); Map Turtle (Graptemys geographicus: Fowler, Henry W. 1907. The amphibians and reptiles of New Jersey. MacCrellish and Quigley, Trenton, N. J.. 29-250pp.); Geographic Terrapin (Malaclemys geographica: Hurter, Julius. 1911. Herpetology of Missouri. Transactions of the Academy of Science St. Louis 20(5):59-274); Map Turtle (Malaclemys geographica: Hurter, Julius. 1911. Herpetology of Missouri. Transactions of the Academy of Science St. Louis 20(5):59-274); Common Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Geographic Turtle (Graptemys geographica: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1817 Le Sueur, C. A. An account of an American species of Tortoise, not noticed in the systems. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 1:348-359 1(1):86-88
1990 McCoy, Clarence J., Jr. and Richard C. Vogt. Graptemys geographica. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (484):1-7
1991 Collins, Joseph T. Amphibians and reptiles in the upper Mississippi river valley: Systematic and distributional problems. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 66(4):149-152
1994 McCoy, Clarence J., Jr. and Richard C. Vogt. Graptemys. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (584):1-3
1994 Lamb, Trib, Charles Lydeard, R. B. Walker, and J. Whitfield Gibbons. Molecular systematics of map turtles (Graptemys): A comparison of mitochondrial restriction site versus sequence data. Systematic Biology 43:543-559
2009 Lindeman, Peter V. On the type locality and type specimen of Testudo geographica LeSueur 1817. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 8(1):95-98
2014 Lindeman, Peter V. Surveys of basking turtles in the rivers of northeastern Oklahoma, with emphasis on Graptemys geographica (Common Map Turtle). Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 94:1-9
2017 Praschag, Peter, Flora Ihlow, Morris Flecks, Melita Vamberger, and Uwe Fritz. Diversity of North American map and sawback turtles (Testudines: Emydidae: Graptemys). Zoologica Scripta 46:675-682
2021 Powell, Alexis F. L. A., Michael S. Mahr, Jennifer L. Buchanan, and Justin Autz. New records of the Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica) redefine its known distribution and abundance in Kansas, USA. Herpetological Review 52(4):737–742

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 19 April 2025 22:56 CT