Big Bend slider

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Big Bend slider
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Emydidae
Genus: Trachemys
Species:
T. gaigeae
Binomial name
Trachemys gaigeae
Hartweg, 1939
Synonyms[2]

Nota bene: Dashes indicate scientific names which are simply new combinations, i.e., not new taxa.

  • Pseudemys scripta gaigeae
    Hartweg, 1939
  • Pseudemys gaigeae
    Stejneger & Barbour, 1939
  • Pseudemys scripta gagei
    Zweig & Crenshaw, 1957
    (
    ex errore
    )
  • Chrysemys scripta gaigeae
    H.M. Smith & Taylor, 1966
  • Pseudemys scripta gaigei
    Ernst, 1967 (ex errore)
  • Chrysemys gaigeae
    — Weaver & Rose, 1967
  • Pseudemys scripta gaigea Degenhardt & Christiansen, 1974
    (ex errore)
  • Chrysemys gaigae
    Ashton, Edwards & Pisani, 1976
    (ex errore)
  • Chrysemys gaigea
    — Morafka, 1977
  • Chrysemys scripta gaigae
    — Morafka, 1977
  • Trachemys nebulosa gaigeae
    — Ward, 1984
  • Pseudemys scripta gaigae
    Stebbins, 1985
  • Trachemys scripta gaigeae
    Iverson, 1985
  • Trachemys gaigeae
    Dixon, 1987
  • Trachemys gaigae
    — Williamson, Hyder & Applegarth, 1994
  • Trachemys ornata gaigeae
    — Walls, 1996
  • Trachemys gaigeae gaigeae
    Seidel, 2002
  • Trachemys scripta gaigae
    — Gurley, 2003
  • Trachemys nebulosa gaigae
    Joseph-Ouni, 2004

The Big Bend slider (Trachemys gaigeae), also called commonly the Mexican Plateau slider and la jicotea de la meseta mexicana in Mexican Spanish, is a species of aquatic turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

Taxonomy

The species Trachemys gaigeae was first described by professor of zoology at the University of Michigan, Dr. Norman Edouard Hartweg, in 1939, as a subspecies, Pseudemys scripta gaigeae. Later, it was assigned to the genus Chrysemys, then to the genus Trachemys. Most recently, it was granted full species status,[3] though many sources still refer to it by its various synonyms.

The Nazas slider (T. hartwegi) of the Nazas River in northern Mexico was formerly considered a subspecies of T. gaigeae, but was reclassified as a distinct species by the Turtle Taxonomy Working Group and the Reptile Database in 2021.[4][5]

Geographic range

T. gaigeae is native to the United States in the states of New Mexico and Texas, and to northern Mexico in the state of Chihuahua. It is found primarily in the Rio Grande and Rio Concho.[6]

Etymology

The

Big Bend region of Texas in 1928.[1]

Behavior

Primarily aquatic, the Big Bend slider is often seen basking on rocks or logs in the water, and when approached quickly dives to the bottom.[

eggs.[citation needed] It is an omnivorous species, with younger animals being more carnivorous, and progressively becoming more herbivorous as they age, with older adults being nearly entirely herbivorous.[citation needed
]

Description

Adults of T. gaigeae have a straight carapace length of 5 to 11 inches (13 to 28 cm).[6]

References

External links

Further reading