Pseudemys alabamensis Baur 1893 – Alabama Red-Bellied Cooter, Alabama Red-Bellied Turtle

Abstract

The Alabama red-bellied cooter, Pseudemys alabamensis (Family Emydidae), is a poorly known aquatic species, most closely allied with members of the P. rubriventris complex. It is an Alabama and Mississippi endemic, found in the lower part of the Mobile Bay Drainage Basin in Mobile and Baldwin counties, Alabama, as well as the Pascagoula River and Back Bay of Biloxi watersheds in Harrison and Jackson counties, Mississippi. The species was designated as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987 and as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. Threats to the species include predation by hogs, raccoons, crows, and fire ants; harvesting and collecting (including human consumption of eggs); destruction of submerged vegetation beds by dredging; pollution and development; destruction of nesting habitat; bulkheading of bayous (preventing access of females to upland nesting sites); incidental capture by recreational fishermen on baited hooks; and injury from boat propellers and vehicular traffic. A recovery plan for the species was approved in 1990. Pseudemys alabamensis is the Official State Reptile of Alabama.