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The Tortuga Gazette and Education Since 1964 Volume 55, Number 1 • January/February 2019

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The Tortuga Gazette and Education Since 1964 Volume 55, Number 1 • January/February 2019 Dedicated to CALIFORNIA TURTLE & TORTOISE CLUB Turtle & Tortoise Conservation, Preservation the Tortuga Gazette and Education Since 1964 Volume 55, Number 1 • January/February 2019 Pearl River map turtle, Graptemys pearlensis. Photo by Cris Hagen, United States Geological Survey. Public domain. Map turtle species, Graptemys spp. Agassiz, 1857 Map Turtles — an Overview by M. A. Cohen ndemic to North America, the family of basking, semiaquatic emydid turtles, map turtles are Ethirteen map turtle species chelonians, the common name of comparatively small. As a species, inhabit freshwater ecosystems Graptemys—map turtle—denotes map turtles display significant sex- throughout the eastern half of the the map-like markings, often ual dimorphism (differences related United States as well as southeast- resembling waterways on old maps, to the sex of the individual) with ern Canada. The genus Graptemys that occur on the species’ carapace. females being much larger than was officially described by the Graptemys species are also com- males. Female map turtles, at 7 to Swiss-American biologist/geolo- monly known as sawback turtles, 10 inches (18 to 25 centimeters) gist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz in referring to the distinctive keel, in carapace length, are often up to 1857. running the medial length of the twice the length of males and can The genus name Graptemys derives carapace, which is typically ser- possess up to ten times the body from two Greek root words: grapt-, rated and spiked. Map turtles are mass of males. At 3 to 7 inches which means inscribed or written, also known for the elaborate strip- (8 to 18 centimeters) in carapace and -emys, meaning a turtle or ing on their heads, limbs, and tails. length, male map turtles are much smaller than females. tortoise. Members of the Emydidae Compared to other North American 2 Tortuga Gazette 55(1) • January/February 2019 C Map Turtles — an Overview by M. A. Cohen 1 O Arkansas Curtails Commercial Trapping of Wild Turtles, Orders Study 6 N Mike’s Turtle Net Picks by Michael J. Connor, Ph.D. 8 Lawsuit Launched Over Federal Failure to Protect Turtles in Louisiana, Mississippi T Results from the First-Ever Census of the Eastern Santa Cruz Tortoise 9 E The Turtle’s Garden: Carnation, Dianthus caryophyllus 10 N Meetings and Programs 11 T 2019 CTTC Directory 12 Critical Habitat Proposed for Endangered Arizona Mud Turtle 13 S Turtle Park 14 Besides the overall size differences items. In their typical diets are mol- are megacephalic, i.e., they have between males and females, the lusks, soft-bodied invertebrates, extremely large heads. tails and front-limb claws of map aquatic insects, and aquatic plants, Graptemys caglei, Cagle’s turtles differ noticeably. Male map among other items. turtles typically have longer, thicker map turtle Graptemys barbouri, Inhabiting watersheds in south tails and longer claws on their front central Texas, Cagle’s map turtle is legs than those of the females. Barbour’s map turtle one of the least studied of all Grap- Males use their elongated claws as temys species. Named in honor of part of their courtship ritual. American herpetologist Dr. Fred R. Taxonomy, the classification of Cagle (1915-1968), G. caglei is one organisms, is a fluid process and is of two map turtle species native to continually being refined through Texas that each lack an overlapping new research from the scientific range with other map turtles, the community. This article will briefly other being the Texas map turtle, G. profile the currently recognized versa. species and subspecies of map turtle. Barbour’s map turtle. Photo by Ltshears. Public domain. All Graptemys species are found exclusively in freshwater habitats, Named in honor of the American including lakes, ponds, streams, and herpetologist Thomas Barbour wetlands, preferably those with (1884-1946), Barbour’s map turtle abundant basking spots, such as inhabits rivers in southeastern Ala- submerged logs, rocks, and snags. bama, the Florida panhandle, and southwestern Georgia. Cagle’s map turtle hatchling. Photo © 2009 by The particulars of species’ habitat Mokele. Source: Creative Commons; license: will vary with the region in which One of the larger species of Grap- CC-BY-SA-3.0. that species resides. For example, temys, Barbour’s map turtle is rare Described as mesocephalic, the some species are found in multiple or threatened in the states it inhab- female Cagle’s map turtle has a waterways in multiple states, while its, and CITES lists the species as “moderately enlarged head,” mak- other species are found only in a Appendix III. ing it well-equipped for feeding on single river drainage. Studies of both the form and the mollusks; the species also feeds on insects and plant material. Dietary omnivores, map turtles DNA of Barbour’s map turtle prove consume a variety of food items, that it is closely related to the Ala- Through morphological studies— depending on local availability. bama map turtle (G. pulchra), the those of the form and structure of Some species are more carnivorous Escambia map turtle (G. ernsti), organisms— chelonian researchers than others, and, depending on and the Pascagoula map turtle assigned Cagle’s map turtle to the their particular physical atributes, (G. gibbonsi); together these four “narrow-headed” group known as males and females differ in their species comprise the G. pulchra the G. pseudogeographica map abilities to prey on specific food group. The females of these species turtles. 3 Tortuga Gazette 55(1) • January/February 2019 Graptemys ernsti, Escambia meaning a spot or a blotch. This found in swiftly-flowing streams. map turtle descriptive name refers to the species’ carapacial markings, which feature yellow blotches on the scutes. As opportunistic feeders, yellow- blotched map turtles consume insects as a dietary staple as well as preying on crustaceans and small fish, and they also eat plant matter. Northern map turtle photographed in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Photo © 2008 by D. Gordon E. Robertson. Source: Creative Commons; license: CC-BY-3.0. The Escambia map turtle. Public domain. Carnivorous in its dietary pref- erences, northern map turtles Endemic to rivers in southern consume mollusks, crustaceans, Alabama and western Florida insects, fish carrion, and other that drain into the Escambia Bay aquatic animals. located off the western Florida pan- handle, the Escambia map turtle Graptemys gibbonsi, Pasca- was named in honor of American goula or Gibbons’s map turtle herpetologist Dr. Carl H. Ernst The Pascagoula map turtle is found (1938-2018). only in the Pascagoula and Pearl Rivers, and their tributaries, in Mis- A moderately large species, the sissippi and Louisiana. The species Escambia map turtle’s carapace is is sympatric (overlapping in range) high-domed and medially keeled, with the yellow-blotched map tur- while its plastron is quite flat. The tle and the Pearl River map turtle. large jaws of the females have Yellow-blotched map turtle. Photo by Eekhoo- broad surfaces for crushing the rntje. Public domain. shells of mollusks. Because of its comparatively low G. ernsti prefers habitats in large, reproductive output coupled with swift rivers and creeks with the deterioration of its habitat, the plentiful basking spots that are yellow-blotched map turtle is listed separated from the shoreline, as as threatened under the US Endan- well as protective underwater hid- gered Species Act. ing spots. The habitat must also Graptemys geographica, offer an abundance of freshwater Pascagoula map turtle. Photo by Eekhoorntje. northern or common map Public domain. mollusks such as aquatic snails and turtle mussels. The most widely distributed of the Named in honor of the American Graptemys flavimaculata, map turtle species, the range of herpetologist J. Whitfield ‘Whit’ yellow-blotched map turtle northern or common map turtle Gibbons, G. gibbonsi is listed as or yellow-blotched sawback extends from southern Canada endangered on the IUCN Red List One of the “narrow-headed” group southward to northwestern Georgia because of its declining population of Graptemys, the yellow-blotched and westward to the Great Lakes. numbers. Like many other Grapte- map turtle is found in the Pasca- The northern map turtle is the only mys species, the Pascagoula map goula River and its tributaries in Graptemys species that inhabits turtle has suffered significant habi- Mississippi, having a range that watersheds draining into the Atlan- tat destruction within its range. overlaps with that of the Pasca- tic Ocean. Formerly researchers considered goula map turtle. A sizable species with a broad, oval the Pascagoula map turtle to be a to rounded, low-keeled carapace, variant of the Alabama map turtle, The species name flavimaculata the northern map turtle prefers but DNA data now confirms that G. derives from two Latin root words: large, slow-moving rivers but is also gibbonsi is a distinct species within flav-,meaning yellow, and macula-, 4 Tortuga Gazette 55(1) • January/February 2019 the G. pulchra clade (a group of its tributaries in Louisiana and Mis- single species. organisms having a common ances- sissippi, this turtle gets its species Described as a riverine species, tor), which includes two additional name from the circular markings on the Ouachita map turtle inhab- species, Barbour’s map turtle, and the scutes of its carapace that are its rivers, lakes, dams, and river the Escambia map turtle. particularly noticeable in hatchlings bottom swamps, preferably with and juveniles. Graptemys nigrinoda, black- a sand or silt bottom. Basking on knobbed map turtle logs and mats of plant material is Occurring in the Mobile Bay drain- a common activity. age of the Tombigbee and Black Omnivorous in its diet, the Warrior Rivers in Alabama and in Ouachita map turtle consumes several river systems in Mississippi, a variety of food items, includ- the black-knobbed map turtle is a ing freshwater sponges, aquatic small to medium-sized species with invertebrates, leeches, snails, distinguishing black-tipped pro- small crustaceans, aquatic Ringed map turtles.
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