Pond slider

Pond slider
Trachemys scripta elegans, the red-eared 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. scripta
Binomial name
Trachemys scripta
Subspecies native range map in the United States. Current subspecies ranges include non-native, introduced areas and may be considered as invasive.
  red-eared slider (also in Mexico)
  yellow-bellied slider
  Cumberland slider

The pond slider (Trachemys scripta) is a species of common, medium-sized, semiaquatic turtle. Three subspecies are described,[2] the most recognizable of which is the red-eared slider (T. s. elegans), which is popular in the pet trade and has been introduced to other parts of the world by people releasing it to the wild. Hatchling and juvenile pond sliders have a green upper shell (carapace), yellow bottom shell (plastron), and green and yellow stripes and markings on their skin. These patterns and colors in the skin and shell fade with age until the carapace is a muted olive green to brown and the plastron is a dull yellow or darker. Some sliders become almost black with few visible markings. The carapace is oval with a bit of rounding and a central crest with knobs, but these features soften and fade with age, adults being smoother and flatter. For determining an adult slider's sex, males typically have much longer front claws than adult females, while females usually have shorter, more slender tails than males. Their lifespans range from 20 to 50 years.

  1. ^ van Dijk, P.P.; Harding, J. & Hammerson, G.A. (2016) [errata version of 2011 assessment]. "Trachemys scripta". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T22028A97429935. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T22028A9347395.en. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Inverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley (2010-12-14). "Turtles of the World 2010 Update: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution and Conservation Status" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
  3. ^ First described by Carl Peter Thunberg, and published in:
    Ioannis Davidis Schoepff (1792). Historia Testudinum Iconibus Illustrata. Published in Erlangen, by Ioannis Iacobi Palm. p. 16-17.
  4. ^ Fritz 2007, pp. 207–208