Big Bend slider
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2011) |
Big Bend slider | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
Family: | Emydidae |
Genus: | Trachemys |
Species: | T. gaigeae
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Binomial name | |
Trachemys gaigeae Hartweg, 1939
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Synonyms[2] | |
Nota bene: Dashes indicate scientific names which are simply new combinations, i.e., not new taxa.
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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
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.[
Description
Adults of T. gaigeae have a straight carapace length of 5 to 11 inches (13 to 28 cm).[6]
References
- . Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- S2CID 87809001.
- ^ "Trachemys gaigeae ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ "Trachemys hartwegi ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
- S2CID 244279960.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9(Trachemys gaigeae, p. 217, figure 96).
- ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Trachemys gaigeae, p. 96).
External links
- Species Trachemys gaigeae at The Reptile Database
Further reading
- ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Chrysemys scripta gaigeae, p. 453).
- ISBN 0-395-19977-8(paperback). (Chrysemys scripta gaigeae, p. 63 + Figure 10 on p. 58 + Map 25).
- Hartweg N (1939). "A New American Pseudemys ". Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (397): 1–4. (Pseudemys scripta gaigeae, new subspecies).
- ISBN 978-0874744682. (Pseudemys scripta hartwegi, new subspecies, pp. 89–91, Figure 7.5, Tables 7.2-7.6).
- ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Pseudemys scripta gaigeae, pp. 56–57).
- ISBN 978-0-395-98272-3. (Trachemys gaigeae, pp. 253–254 + Plate 21 + Map 69).