Pseudemys concinna

River cooter
Coastal plain cooter, P. concinna floridana
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Subclass:	Anapsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Emydidae
Subfamily:	Deirochelyinae
Genus:	Pseudemys
Species:	P. concinna
Binomial name
Pseudemys concinna (Le Conte, 1830)
Synonyms
Pseudemys concinna concinna Testudo concinna LeConte, 1830 Emys annulifera Gray, 1831 Emys (Testudo) concinna Bonaparte, 1831 Terrapene concinna Bonaparte, 1831 Clemmys (Clemmys) concinna Fitzinger, 1835 Emys hieroglyphica Holbrook, 1836 Emys mobilensis Holbrook, 1838 Emys labyrinthica Duméril & Bibron, 1851 Emys mobiliensis LeConte, 1854 (ex errore) Pseudemys concinna Gray, 1856 Pseudemys hieroglyphica Gray, 1856 Ptychemys concinna Agassiz, 1857 Ptychemys hieroglyphica Agassiz, 1857 Ptychemys hoyi Agassiz, 1857 Ptychemys mobiliensis Agassiz, 1857 Clemmys hieroglyphica Strauch, 1862 Clemmys labyrinthica Strauch, 1862 Clemmys mobilensis Strauch, 1862 Pseudemys mobiliensis Gray, 1863 Emys orthonyx Wied, 1865 Pseudemys labyrinthica Gray, 1870 Trachemys annulifera Gray, 1873 Pseudemys mobilensis Yarrow, 1883 Chrysemys concinna Boulenger, 1889 Chrysemys hieroglyphica Boulenger, 1889 Chrysemys mobiliensis Boulenger, 1889 Clemmys mobiliensis Strauch, 1890 Chrysemys labyrinthica Hay, 1892 Pseudemys elonae Brimley, 1928 Pseudemys vioscana Brimley, 1928 Pseudemys floridana concinna Carr, 1935 Pseudemys floridana mobiliensis Carr, 1937 Pseudemys concinna hoyi Stejneger, 1938 Pseudemys floridana hieroglyphica Carr, 1938 Pseudemys concinna concinna Stejneger & Barbour, 1939 Pseudemys concinna hieroglyphica Stejneger & Barbour, 1939 Pseudemys concinna mobilensis Stejneger & Barbour, 1939 Pseudemys floridana mobilensis Pope, 1939 Pseudemys floridana hoyi Brown, 1950 Pseudemys concinna mobiliensis Carr, 1952 Pseudemys virginica Pasteels, 1957 (nomen nudum) Chrysemys concinna concinna Weaver & Rose, 1967 Chrysemys concinna hieroglyphica Weaver & Rose, 1967 Chrysemys concinna mobilensis Cochran & Goin, 1970 Chrysemys floridana hoyi Cochran & Goin, 1970 Pseudemys concinna metteri Ward, 1984 Pseudemys floridana noyi Ferri, 2002 (ex errore) Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis Pseudemys floridana suwanniensis Carr, 1937 Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis Stejneger & Barbour, 1939 Pseudemys concinna suuranniensis Rhodes, 1966 (ex errore) Chrysemys concinna suwanniensis Weaver & Rose, 1967 Pseudemys sueanniensis Nothstine, Davis & DeRoos 1971 (ex errore) Pseudemys suenniensis Dadd, 1974 (ex errore) Pseudemys suwanniensis Collins, 1991

The river cooter (Pseudemys concinna) is a freshwater turtle native to the central and eastern United States, from Virginia south to mid-Georgia, west to eastern Texas, Oklahoma, and north to southern Indiana. They are usually found in rivers with moderate current, as well as lakes and tidal marshes.

There are three subspecies:

The genus Pseudemys includes several species of cooters and red-bellied turtles. Pseudemys concinna is the species known as the River cooter. The name "cooter" may have come from an African word "kuta" which means "turtle" in the Bambara and Malinké languages, brought to America by African slaves.

River cooters enjoy basking on logs or sun-warmed rocks, and are frequently found in the company of other aquatic basking turtles (sliders and painteds) sometimes piled up on top of each other. All are quick to slip into the water if disturbed. Diurnal by nature, these turtles wake with the warming sun to bask and forage. They can move with surprising speed in the water and on land. It is not unusual for them to wander from one body of fresh water to another, but many seem to develop fairly large home ranges, which they seldom or never leave. They sleep in the water, hidden under vegetation. While those that live in areas that are quite warm remain active all winter, river cooters in cooler climes can become dormant during the winter for up to two months, in the mud, underwater. They do not breathe during this time of low metabolism, but can utilize oxygen from the water, which they take in through the cloaca. River cooters prefer to be well hidden under aquatic plants during the winter dormancy period or while sleeping each night.

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Wikipedia