Southernmost Occurrence of the Suwannee Cooter, Pseudemys Concinna Suwanniensis (Testudines: Emydidae)

Abstract

The Suwannee Cooter, Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis, the largest member of the speciose turtle family Emydidae, inhabits a small number of rivers that drain into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico along the northwest coast of Florida from just west of Tallahassee to just south of Tampa. The status of this state-protected subspecies in the southernmost of these rivers, the Alafia, is unknown and hence of conservation concern. We provide recent evidence confirming that a reproducing population still exists in this river, and review available specimens and both published and unpublished records documenting the southern limit of distribution. At least within the eastern United States, our observations also extend confirmed knowledge of the geographic occurrence of hatchling turtles overwintering in the nest southward by 285 km.

Distribution and Status of the Suwannee Cooter, Pseudemys Concinna Suwanniensis, in the Alafia River (Hillsborough County, Florida, Usa)

“…Population levels of this invasive, non-native subspecies should be monitored (Ernst and Lovich 2009). DISCUSSION Our study is novel in examining the distribution of P. c. suwanniensis throughout an entire river catchment; this is important because the Alafia River is likely the subspecies' stronghold in the southern portion of its range, based on our studies of this and other regional drainages (Heinrich et al 2015;Heinrich 2015, 2016;Walsh 2016, 2019). In this paper, we report what we observed to be the upstream and downstream limits of Suwannee Cooters and suggest potential factors limiting their distribution.…”

“…The Suwannee Cooter, Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis, is the largest emydid turtle in North America and occurs in river systems draining into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico from the Ochlockonee River in the eastern Florida panhandle, southward to Phillippi Creek in the southern peninsula (Figure 1; Heinrich et al 2015, Heinrich andWalsh 2019). This principally riverine turtle exhibits prominent sexual dimorphism (adult females significantly larger than adult males) and is primarily herbivorous after the juvenile stage Walker 1997, Jackson, 2006).…”

“…This river system supports three sympatric species in the genus Pseudemys: Suwannee Cooter, Peninsula Cooter (P. floridana peninsularis), and Florida Red-bellied Cooter (P. nelsoni). The earliest specimens of P. c. suwanniensis from the Alafia River were collected by Walter Auffenberg, Larry H. Ogren, and John W. Crenshaw, Jr. on 22 November 1953 (USNM 137634-137635;Heinrich et al 2015). Subsequent infrequent observations and specimens collected are summarized by Heinrich et al (2015).…”

“…The earliest specimens of P. c. suwanniensis from the Alafia River were collected by Walter Auffenberg, Larry H. Ogren, and John W. Crenshaw, Jr. on 22 November 1953 (USNM 137634-137635;Heinrich et al 2015). Subsequent infrequent observations and specimens collected are summarized by Heinrich et al (2015). The objectives of the study reported here were to determine the distribution and status of P. c. suwanniensis in the Alafia River.…”

“…1. Map of Florida rivers in which Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis occur, as well as rivers from which they are absent or unknown (Heinrich et al 2015. The water-based survey employed binoculars and a digital camera as described for the basking survey from land.…”