Wrong map mute turtle
| Wrong map mute turtle | ||||||||||||
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Wrong map mute turtle |
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| Graptemys pseudogeographica | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1831) |
The false map turtle or false map turtle ( Graptemys pseudogeographica ) is a species of the New World pond turtle . It occurs in two subspecies, for which the names Missouri mute turtle ( Graptemys pseudogeographica pseudogeographica (Gray, 1831)) and Mississippi mute turtle ( Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii (Baur, 1890)) have become common in German-speaking countries .
Appearance and size
The false map turtle has a carapace length of up to 14.6 centimeters for males and up to 27.3 centimeters for females. Their carapace (back armor) varies in shades of brown (also dark olive) and in adult animals hardly shows the net markings of the young animals. The fine dark lines on the light plastron (belly) also disappear or fade with age . The skin shows an extensive pattern of whitish to yellow stripes and dots on a gray background. The iris of the Missouri mute turtle is marked by a dark stripe. This runs horizontally over the eye. In the subspecies Graptemys p. kohnii lacks this indicator. But it has a characteristic sickle-shaped yellow markings behind the eye.
distribution
The subspecies Missouri Mute Turtle is found in Arkansas along the Mississippi River and Missouri River north to southwest Minnesota and south North Dakota .
The Mississippi Mute Turtle subspecies is distributed from eastern Texas to southeastern Kansas, western Mississippi, southern Illinois, and the lower Missouri River in Missouri .
habitat
The habitat of the two subspecies includes stagnant and slowly flowing water with a dense vegetation. The females of the false map turtle eat mostly vegetable food. This includes algae and aquatic plants. It also consumes animal foods such as snails, mussels and fish. Male animals feed almost exclusively on Carnivore.
Reproduction
The breeding season of the false map turtle begins as early as autumn. The main mating season, however, is in spring. The eggs are laid between May and July. The females lay up to three clutches. The clutch of the Missouri mute turtle comprises between four and fifteen eggs. The clutches of the Mississippi mute turtle are smaller and contain between two and seven eggs.
The eggs are elliptical in shape and have a tough, elastic shell. As with all turtles, the hatching time of the young is temperature-dependent. They hatch after a period of 72 to 90 days. The sex of the young depends on the incubation temperature. Males hatch at temperatures below 28 degrees. At temperatures between 30 and 33 degrees only females. The carapace length of hatching young is 25 to 33 millimeters.
Final preparations for laying eggs (June 2012 in Klein-Umstadt, Hessen )
When laying eggs (in this case number six of eight eggs in the clutch)
literature
- Carl H. Ernst, Jeffrey E. Lovich: Turtles of the United States and Canada . Johns Hopkins University Press , Baltimore 2009, pp. 364-399, ISBN 0-8018-9121-3
- Kurt Buhlmann, Tracey Tuberville, J. Whitfield Gibbons: Turtles of the Southeast . University of Georgia Press, Athens 2008, ISBN 0-8203-2902-9
- Manfred Rogner: Tortoises - biology, keeping, reproduction . Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2008 ISBN 978-3-8001-5440-1
- Elmar Meier: Wrong map and Mississippi mute turtles. Natur und Tier-Verlag, 2007 ISBN 978-3-937285-88-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ Manfred Rogner: Tortoises - biology, keeping, reproduction . Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, p. 69
Web links
- Graptemys pseudogeographica at Turtles of the World (English)
- Graptemys pseudogeographica at NatureServe Explorer (English)
- Mute turtles at graptemys.de (German)
- Graptemys pseudogeographica in The Reptile Database
- Graptemys pseudogeographica inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Posted by: van Dijk, PP, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2014.