The False map turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica) is a species of freshwater turtle that is found in the United States. It is occasionally called "sawback", in reference to the serrated keels on its shell.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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OmnivoreAn omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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AquaticAn aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract ...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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HibernatingHibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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starts withThe False map turtle has a carapace featuring a vertebral row of low spines and is serrated on the posterior rim. The carapace is olive to brown in color with light yellowish markings with dark borders. The plastron color varies from cream to yellow and is patterned with dark lines along the seams in juveniles. The body color of the false map turtle is grayish-brown to blackish and is marked with light brown, yellow, or whitish stripes. The eye can be brown, light yellow, white, or green and is crossed with a dark bar. Narrow hooked marks behind the eye fuse with dorsal lines on the head and neck. Also, small light-colored spots occur below the eye and on the chin.
False map turtles live in large streams of the Missouri and Mississippi River systems, ranging from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, through the Dakotas southward to southwestern Alabama, southern and western Mississippi, and Louisiana. They also occur in several other river systems of Southwest Louisiana and East Texas. False map turtles prefer rivers and large creeks with moderate currents, containing aquatic vegetation, as well as snags or floating logs. They are also comfortable in deep and swift water. They occur in oxbow lakes and sloughs but are absent from lakes, ponds, or small streams.
False map turtles are diurnal reptiles. They are avid baskers, spending many hours during the day in the sun. Basking is important to these turtles, and they may even be found on steep, slippery snags. When with other turtles, they also are very communal, sharing space and using each other for predator-watching, increasing the odds of surviving an attack. False map turtles are active from late March/April to mid-October.
False map turtles are omnivores. They eat invertebrates, fish, mollusks, insects and insect larvae, carrion, and aquatic plants.
False map turtles breed in April and then in October and November. Females excavate nests not too far from beaches where they then lay 8-22 eggs; they may lay up to 2-3 clutches per year. Incubation takes 60-80 days. The young are independent from the moment they hatch and don't require parental care. Young females become reproductively mature at the age of 8-14 years, while males are ready to breed when they are 4-6 years old.
False map turtles are threatened by the destruction of their nests with eggs by animals and insects, falling victim to gill nets, and being shot. False map turtles also suffer from pollution and have been collected for the pet trade.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the False map turtle total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...