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Reptilia    Testudines    Emydidae  

Pond Slider
Trachemys scripta (Thunberg in Schoepff, 1792)
trak-EM-ees — SKRIP-tuh

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Hedges et al. (2019, Caribbean Herpetology (67): 1-53) changed the English name to "Pondslider". We have followed the traditional English name usage of Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2021, Chelonian Research Monographs (8): 1–472).

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.02.03.15.46.49)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 2.69 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Rough Tortoise (Testudo scabra: Forster, John R. 1771. A systematic catalogue of all the known plants of English North-America or, a flora Americae Septentrionalis. Pages in From Forster's translation of Bossu, Travels through that part of North America formerly called Louisiana, Vol. 1. T. Davies, London, England. pp.); Lettered Tortoise (Testudo scripta: Shaw, George. 1802. General zoology or systematic natural history. Volume 3. G. Kearsley, London, U. K.. 615pp.); Red-bellied Terrapin (Emys serrata: Harlan, Richard. 1827. Genera of North American Reptilia, and a synopsis of the species Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences Philidelphia 5(2):317-372); Potter (Emys serrata: Harlan, Richard. 1827. Genera of North American Reptilia, and a synopsis of the species Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences Philidelphia 5(2):317-372); Lettered Terrapin (Emys scripta: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); Serrated Terrapin (Emys serrata: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); Banded Terrapin (Emys vittata: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); Holbrook's Emys (Emys holbrookii: Gray, John E. 1856. Catalogue of shield reptiles in the collection of the British Museum. Part I. Testudinata (Tortoises). Taylor and Francis, London, England. 79pp.); Varied Emys (Emys rivulata: Gray, John E. 1856. Catalogue of shield reptiles in the collection of the British Museum. Part I. Testudinata (Tortoises). Taylor and Francis, London, England. 79pp.); Lettered Emys (Emys scripta: Gray, John E. 1856. Catalogue of shield reptiles in the collection of the British Museum. Part I. Testudinata (Tortoises). Taylor and Francis, London, England. 79pp.); Dr. Troost's Terrapen (Emys troostii: Gray, John E. 1856. Catalogue of shield reptiles in the collection of the British Museum. Part I. Testudinata (Tortoises). Taylor and Francis, London, England. 79pp.); Potter (Pseudemys serrata: Gray, John E. 1856. Catalogue of shield reptiles in the collection of the British Museum. Part I. Testudinata (Tortoises). Taylor and Francis, London, England. 79pp.); Elegant Terrapin (Pseudemys elegans: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Rough Terrapin (Pseudemys scabra: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Pseudemys troostii: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Cumberland Terrapin (Pseudemys elegans: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Pseudemys scabra: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Troost's Terrapin (Pseudemys troosti: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Pseudemys troosti: Davis, N. S. Jr. and Frank L. Rice. 1883. Descriptive catalogue of North American batrachia and reptilia, found east of Mississippi River. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 1(5):71); Elegant Terrapin (Chrysemys elegans: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Wied's Turtle (Pseudemys elegans: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Cumberland Terrapin (Pseudemys elegans: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Mobilian (Pseudemys elegans: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Troost's Mobilian (Pseudemys troostii: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Elegant Turtle (Pseudemys elegans: Hurter, Julius. 1911. Herpetology of Missouri. Transactions of the Academy of Science St. Louis 20(5):59-274); Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Pseudemys scripta: Brimley, Clement S. 1915. List of reptiles and amphibians of North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 30(4):195-206); Elegant Terrapin (Pseudemys elegans: Strecker, John K., Jr. 1922. An annotated catalogue of the amphibians and reptiles of Bexar County, Texas. Bulletin Scientific Society of San Antonio (4):1-31); Cooter (Pseudemys elegans: Strecker, John K., Jr. 1922. An annotated catalogue of the amphibians and reptiles of Bexar County, Texas. Bulletin Scientific Society of San Antonio (4):1-31); Pond Terrapin (Pseudemys scripta: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Red-eared Turtle (Pseudemys scripta elegans: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Painted Terrapin (Pseudemys scripta elegans: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Elegant Terrapin (Pseudemys scripta elegans: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Yellow-bellied Turtle (Pseudemys scripta scripta: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Pond Terrapin (Pseudemys scripta scripta: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Troost's Terrapin (Pseudemys scripta troosti: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Cumberland Turtle (Pseudemys scripta troosti: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Pondslider (Trachemys scripta: Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. 2019. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1792 Schoepff, Joannis D. Historia testudinum iconibus illustrata. Fasciculus I et II. [A history of turtles illustrated with icons. Bundle I and II.] Joannis Jacobi Palm, Erlangae [=Erlangen], Germany. 1-32, Plates I-Xpp.
1933 Viosca, Percy, Jr. The Pseudemys troostii-elegans complex, a case of sexual dimorphism. Copeia 1933(4):208-210
1966 McCoy, Clarence J., Jr. The development of melanism in an Oklahoma population of Chrysemys scripta elegans (Reptilia: Testudinidae). Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 47:84-87
1969 Ernst, Carl H. An Intergrade Population of Pseudemys scripta elegans x Pseudemys scripta troosti in Kentucky. Journal of Herpetology 3(1-2):103
1984 Scribner, K. T., M. H. Smith, and J. Whitfield Gibbons. Genetic divergence among local populations of the yellow-bellied slider turtle (Pseudemys scripta) . Herpetologica 40(4):382-387
1995 Scribner, Kim T., Stephen J. Morreale, Michael H. Smith, and J. Whitfield Gibbons. Factors contributing to temporal and age-specific genetic variation in the freshwater turtle Trachemys scripta. Copeia 1995(4):970-977
1997 Starkey, David E. Molecular systematics and biogeography of the New World turtle genera Trachemys and Kinosternon. Dissertation. Texas A&M, College Station, Texas.. 149pp.
1999 Seidel, Michael E., James N. Stuart, and William G. Degenhardt. Variation and species status of slider turtles (Emydidae: Trachemys) in the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico. Herpetologica 55(4):470-487
2002 Seidel, Michael E. Taxonomic observations on extant species and subspecies of slider turtles, genus Trachemys. Journal of Herpetology 36(2):285-292
2002 Seidel, Michael E. Hemoglobin variation and comments on systematic relationships in the turtle family Emydidae. Copeia 2002(4):1118-1121
2006 Seidel, Michael E. and Carl H. Ernst. Trachemys scripta. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (831):1-94
2012 Seidel, Michael E. and Ernst, Carl H. Trachemys Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (891):1-17
2019 Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53
2020 Parham, James F., Theodore J. Papenfuss, Anna B. Sellas, Bryan L. Stuart, and W. Brian Simison. Genetic variation and admixture of red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) in the USA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 145:1-9
2021 Espindola, Sayra, Ella Vázquez- Domínguez, Luis Osorio-Olvera, Miguel Nakamura, Enrique Martínez- Meyer, Edward A. Myers, Isaac Overcast, Brendan N. Reid, and Frank T. Burbrink. Complex genetic patterns and distribution limits mediated by native congeners of the worldwide invasive red-eared slider turtle. Molecular Ecology 31(6):1766-1782
2024 Fritz, Uwe, Hans-Werner Herrmann, Philip C. Rosen, Markus Auer, Mario Vargas-Ramirez, and Christian Kehlmaier. Trachemys in Mexico and beyond: Beautiful turtles, taxonomic nightmare, and a mitochondrial poltergeist (Testudines: Emydidae). Vertebrate Zoology 74:435-452

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 07 June 2025 13:51 CT