Ouachita mute turtle
| Ouachita mute turtle | ||||||||||||
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Young ouachita mute turtle |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Graptemys ouachitensis | ||||||||||||
| Cagle , 1953 |
The Ouachita map turtle ( Graptemys ouachitensis ) is a kind from the family of emydidae (Emydidae) and in the region of the Mississippi River and the Ouachita River in the United States before.
Appearance
The ouachita mute turtle has a clearly visible keel on the carapace with low thorns. The rear edge of the carapace is strongly jagged. The carapace is brown to olive in color. The belly armor in adults is beige to yellow. Young animals still have a striped pattern on the shield seams. The skin is brownish-olive, depending on the area of distribution, also red-brown and is adorned with yellowish stripes.
The sexes can be distinguished relatively easily. The male has a significantly thicker tail, with the cloaca opening on the rear third . In addition, the male is about 10 to 14 centimeters in length only about half as long as the female and also has a smaller, narrower head. Secondary sexual characteristics are the elongated claws on the front limbs. Females are stronger in overall proportions and, at around 20 to 24 cm, are also significantly larger than the males. The tail is small and narrow, the cloaca opening is close to the belly armor.
The Ouachita mute turtle is often confused with the false map turtle ( Graptemys pseudogeographica pseudogeographica ) and the Mississippi mute turtle ( Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii ). However, it can be clearly distinguished from the two by a characteristic yellow dot at the corner of the mouth below the eye. The two spots on the head above the eyes are significantly wider than those on the Mississippi mute turtle.
There are two subspecies :
- Graptemys ouachitensis ouachitensis Cagle , 1953
- Graptemys ouachitensis sabinensis Cagle , 1953
distribution and habitat
Its distribution is restricted to the Ouachita River system and tributaries of the Mississippi River. These are in northern Louisiana, west to Oklahoma to north to Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
The Ouachita mute turtle inhabits the rivers from the bank area to the central areas with more or less dense vegetation. She is a good swimmer and can also be found in strong currents. To sunbathe, she sits down on fallen trees or roots sticking out of the water, which are completely surrounded by water.
Way of life
nutrition
This turtle species mainly feeds on animal food. It specializes in mollusks and dives for mussels and water snails as well as aquatic insects . With increasing age, female animals predominantly eat vegetable food, while males rarely consume vegetable food. Depending on the distribution area, this species hibernates from December to mid-February. Only animals from southern distribution areas remain active in the winter months.
Reproduction
The mating season is in spring and autumn. Males courtship by approaching the female head-on with nodding heads. After the act of mating, the females go to the edge of the river and oxbow lakes to lay eggs. These are buried on high elevations of the bank area in order to prevent the clutch from being flooded.
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
Web links
- Graptemys ouachitensis at Turtles of the World (English)
- NatureServe Explorer (English)
- Mute turtles at graptemys.de (German)
- Graptemys ouachitensis in The Reptile Database
- Graptemys ouachitensis inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Posted by: van Dijk, PP, 2010. Accessed February 1, 2014.