False map turtle

Appearance

Also known as a “sawback” turtle, the carapace features 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 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.

Naming

* Nominotypical subspecies: ''G. p. pseudogeographica'' – False map turtle
⤷  ''G. p. kohnii'' – Mississippi map turtle

Status

In the Midwest, the false map turtle is a species of special interest in Ohio.

Behavior

Map turtles of all kinds are avid baskers, spending many hours during the day in the sun. 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.

Habitat

The false map turtle is a strong swimmer and prefers 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. The turtles are present in oxbow lakes and sloughs, but are absent from lakes, ponds, or small streams. Basking is important to these turtles, and they may even be found on steep, slippery snags.

Predators

A variety of threats face this species, including the destruction of nests of eggs by animals and insects, falling victim to gill nets, and being shot. False map turtles, much like red-eared sliders '''', have also been collected for the pet trade.