Alternate name: Mississippi Map Turtle
Family: Emydidae, Pond and Box Turtles view all from this family
Description Males, 3 1/2-5 3/4" (8.9-14.6 cm); females, 5-10 3/4" (12.7-27.3 cm). Carapace olive to brown with light-yellow oval markings and dark blotches; distinct keel with blunt black spines (reduced in adults); keel may be dark brown. Plastron cream to yellow or greenish-yellow; intricately patterned in juveniles; often unpatterned in adults. Short yellow bar or crescent-shaped mark behind eyes. Male has elongated claws on front feet.
Subspecies False Map Turtle (G. p. pseudogeographica), yellow mark behind eye, 4-7 neck stripes reaching eye, no large spots on jaws; Missouri River Valley in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa, and upper Mississippi River.
Missississippi Map Turtle (G. p. kohnii), yellow crescent-shaped mark behind eyes prevents neck stripes from reaching eye; round spot on chin; conspicuous white eye with black pupil; w. Mississippi River basin from sw. Iowa to c. Illinois, south to the Gulf and west to e. Kansas and Oklahoma and c. Texas.
Breeding Courting male approaches female from the rear, swims above her, turns to face her, and drums his claws against her snout. Nests May to July. Lays 1-3 clutches of 6-13 elliptical, leathery, soft-shelled eggs, about 1 1/2" (38 mm) long. Hatchlings appear in early fall.
Habitat Large rivers, lakes, ponds, sloughs, and reservoirs, preferably with muddy bottoms and abundant aquatic vegetation and basking sites.
Range Missouri River Valley in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa; Mississippi River basin south to the Gulf; and west to e. Kansas and Oklahoma and c. Texas.
Discussion Once common, its numbers have been reduced by water pollution and the pet trade (although it does not fare well in captivity). A gregarious basker, it feeds on aquatic plants, insects, crustaceans, and mollusks. Can be shy and difficult to approach when basking. The Ouachita and Sabine Map Turtles, once considered a subspecies of the False Map Turtle, is now classified as subspecies of G. ouachitensis.
