Florida red-bellied cooter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Florida red-bellied cooter |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Pseudemys
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| Species: |
nelsoni
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| Synonyms | |
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The Florida red-bellied cooter or Florida redbelly turtle (Pseudemys nelsoni) is a type of turtle. It belongs to the family called Emydidae. These turtles are known for their bright red bellies. They live in the southeastern United States.
Contents
What's in a Name?
The specific name, nelsoni, honors an American biologist. His name was George Nelson. He was born in 1873. Scientists often name new species after people they want to remember.
Where They Live
The Florida redbelly cooter lives only in certain places. You can find them in Florida and southern Georgia. This means they are endemic to these areas.
Life and Habits
Florida redbelly cooters mostly eat plants. They are herbivores. You can find them in almost any kind of water habitat. They are very common in places where springs flow. Sometimes, they even live in brackish water, which is a mix of fresh and salt water.
These turtles are active all year long. They spend a lot of their day basking in the sun. They like to warm up on logs. A cool fact about them is that they sometimes lay their eggs in alligator nest mounds. The Florida redbelly is related to the Peninsula cooter. You might even see both types of turtles basking on the same log.
How to Spot Them
You can tell a Florida redbelly cooter apart from other turtles by a few things. They have a distinct red color on their plastron, which is their belly shell. They also have two small bumps, like teeth, on their upper beak.
Like most Pseudemys turtles, these are fairly large river turtles. Adult turtles can have a shell length from about 20.3 to 37.5 centimeters (8 to 14.8 inches). Female turtles are bigger than males. Females average about 30.5 cm (12 inches) long and weigh around 4 kg (8.8 pounds). Males are smaller, usually about 25 cm (9.8 inches) long and 1.8 kg (4 pounds).
Being Traded
Florida redbellies are often sold for different reasons. Some are caught in the wild. Others are raised on turtle farms. About half of the turtles sold are wild, and half are raised on farms. Many of these turtles are sold as pets.
Images for kids
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A female Florida redbelly cooter basking in the sun.
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See also
In Spanish: Tortuga de vientre rojo de Florida para niños
