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Conservation Messaging Opportunities
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Physical features
Physical features
Yellow-blotched map turtles are very sexually dimorphic. Females grow to 6-7 inches in length while males only grow to 3-4 inches.
They have saw-like projections on their shell that mimic a spiky spine. These projections are more noticeable on males and juveniles. Because of this, they are also known as yellow-blotched sawbacks.
Each scute of the shell is marked by a yellow-orange blotch.
Range and Habitat
Range and Habitat
Range – Pascagoula River system in southern Mississippi.
Habitat – Sandbars within moderate river currents and river banks.
Diet: Carnivore
Diet: Carnivore
Wild – Insect larvae, snails, and mollusks.
Zoo – Pellets, crickets, earthworms, fish, vegetation, crayfish
Lifespan
Lifespan
Wild – 30-50 years
Zoo – 30-50 years
Reproduction
Reproduction
They stroke one another’s heads with their claws during courting.
Nests are made in the sand next to the rivers they live in.
They lay 5 to 7 eggs per clutch.
The sex of the hatchlings depends on temperature during incubation.
Conservation: Vulnerable
Conservation: Vulnerable
Major Threats: Habitat loss. Pollution and flooding have destroyed much of their habitats and killed off the prey that makes up their diet.
Lesser Threats: Collection for the international pet trade.
As with many North American riverine turtles, map turtles are threatened by the presence of large numbers of subsidized predators like raccoons, skunks, and opossums that prey on their nests.
Conservation Efforts: This species is listed under Appendix III of CITES and there is legal protection for them.
They are under a conservation plan of research and education and some places are calling for nest protection as well as improved law enforcement for adult turtles.
Interpretive Information
Interpretive Information
Females are more aggressive than males and may bite when they are handled, whereas males just withdraw into their shell.
They are aquatic so they spend most of their time in water; however, they can usually be seen basking in the sun on the banks of rivers.
Map turtle species are often local to just one or two river systems, thus making protection of these river systems key to protecting the high diversity of these turtles.
References
References
Carvajal, Denia (2003, May 22). Graptemys flavimaculata: Yellow Blotched Map Turtle. Retrieved from http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Graptemys_flavimaculata/
Jones, Robert & Selman, Will (2011, December 31). Graptemys flavimaculata:Yellow Blotched Sawback, Yellow Blotched Map Turtle. Retrieved from http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Accounts/crm_5_052_flavimaculata_v1_2011.pdf
Yellow Blotched Map Turtle. Retrieved from http://www.arkive.org/yellow-blotched-map-turtle/graptemys-flavimaculata/
Yellow Blotched Map Turtle. Retrieved from http://www.hoglezoo.org/meet_our_animals/animal_finder/yellow-blotched_map_turtle/
van Dijk, P.P. 2011. Graptemys flavimaculata (errata version published in 2016). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T9498A97418378. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013.RLTS.T9498A12996484.en. Accessed on 17 November 2023.
Zoo Atlanta Animal Care Team
Updated April 2024
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