Florida Red-bellied Cooter
Pseudemys nelsoni
Carr, 1938
SOO-deh-meez — NEL-son-eye
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: 2023.04.10.09.45.15)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.29 MB
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for a Harvard zoologist and taxidermist.
Pseudemys — From Greek pseudes (ψευδής, “false”) and emydos (from Emys, the Old-World pond turtle). The coiners meant “false Emys,” signaling that, though these turtles resemble Emys, they are not members of that genus.
nelsoni — A patronym honoring George T. Nelson (1872–1927), an American zoologist and preparator. Although he did not publish widely, he played a significant role in fieldwork and specimen collection in the southeastern U.S. including the turtle that served as the holotype for the species description.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Florida Red-bellied Turtle (Pseudemys nelsoni: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Florida Red-bellied Terrapin (Pseudemys nelsoni: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1938
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Carr, Archie F., Jr. Pseudemys nelsoni, a new turtle from Florida. Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History (8):305-310
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1978
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Jackson, Dale R. Chrysemys nelsoni. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (210):1-2
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1980
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Vogt, Richard C. and Clarence J. McCoy, Jr. Status of the emydine turtle genera Chrysemys and Pseudemys. Annals of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History 49(5):93-102
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1996
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Seidel, Michael E. and Carl H. Ernst. Pseudemys. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (625):1-7
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1997
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Siedel, Michael E. and Uwe fritz. Courtship behavior provides additional evidence for a monophyletic Pseudemys, and comments on Mesoamerican Trachemys (Testudines: Emydidae). Herpetological Review 28(2):70-72
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