Florida redbelly turtle
The Florida red-bellied cooter or Florida redbelly turtle (Pseudemys nelsoni ) is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae.
The specific name, nelsoni, is in honor of American biologist George Nelson (born 1873).
Di
DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
He
HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
Na
NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
Te
TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Po
PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
Po
PolygamyPolygamy is the practice of breeding with multiple partners. When a male breeds with more than one female at the same time – it is called polygyny....
Do
Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
So
SocialNo
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
F
starts withThe Florida redbelly can be distinguished from other similar turtles by its distinctive red-tinged plastron (belly) and two cusps (like teeth) on its upper beak. Like most Pseudemys turtles, this species is a fairly large river turtle. Carapace length in mature turtles can range from 20.3 to 37.5 cm (8.0 to 14.8 in). Females, which average 30.5 cm (12.0 in) in carapace length and weigh 4 kg (8.8 lb), are noticeably larger than males, which are around 25 cm (9.8 in) and 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) in mass.
P. nelsoni is endemic to Florida, and southern Georgia. Fossils of P. nelsoni have also been found along the coast of South Carolina from the Pleistocene Epoch, indicating that the historic range of this species used to extend further north. Today, its northern counterpart, the Northern Red-bellied Cooter (Psuedemys rubriventris ) occupies this region.
The Florida redbelly cooter is mainly herbivorous, and can be found in nearly any type of aquatic habitat. It feeds on a variety of aquatic plants including waterweed (Vallisneria and Elodea ), duckweed (Lemna and Wolffia ), and arrowhead (Sagittaria ) species. It reaches particularly high densities in spring runs, and occasionally can be found in brackish water. It appears to have an intermediate salinity tolerance compared to true freshwater forms and the highly specialized terrapin (Malachemys ). This species is active year-round and spends a large portion of the day basking on logs. They are noted for sometimes laying their eggs in the nest mounds of alligators. Sex is temperature-dependent with males being born at cooler temperatures and females being born at warmer temperatures with a pivotal temperature of about 28.5 °C. The Florida redbelly is closely related to the Peninsula cooter (Pseudemys floridana ) and can often be found basking on logs together.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...