Northern red-bellied turtle, American red-bellied turtle
The Northern red-bellied cooter (Pseudemys rubriventris) is a large herbivrous species of turtle in the Pseudemys (cooter) genus. They are often called cooters, which stems from 'kuta', the word for turtle in the Bambara and Malinké languages, brought to America from Africa.
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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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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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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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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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Generally solitaryGenerally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
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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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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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starts withAdult Northern red-bellied cooters have black to brown carapaces and have faint reddish markings. Plastrons of males are pale pink and have dark mottling, while plastrons of adult females are red and have borders of grey along the seams of the shell plate. The head, neck, limbs, and tail are black with yellow or ivory lines. There is a yellow arrow-shaped stripe along the throat and neck.
Northern red-bellied cooters are found in the coastal areas of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. Adult individuals prefer to live in deep freshwater lakes, rivers, canals, and large wetlands, while juveniles usually inhabit more sheltered waters such as marshes, swamps, ponds, and creeks.
Northern red-bellied cooters are active during the daylight hours, spending most of the time swimming, feeding, and basking on logs or rocks. They often sunbathe in groups. Northern red-bellied turtles are shy and wary and if sensing any danger will swim and bury themselves in the mud. They are active between April and October and during winter hibernate buried in the mud at the bottom of rivers.
Northern red-bellied cooters are herbivores. They feed a wide variety of aquatic plants. Juveniles will also consume some small crayfish and invertebrates.
The nesting season of Northern red-bellied cooters starts in late May and continues until early June. The female will dig a nest in the sand not far from the water. She will then lay 8-20 eggs which will be incubated for about 73-80 days. The gender of hatchlings depends on the temperature of the nest. In the nests with warmer temperatures typically hatch females while cooler nests produce males. Hatchlings start to emerge in late August through October, however, some newly hatched Northern red-bellied turtles may overwinter in the nest if the weather is already cool. Young females usually become reproductively mature and start to breed at the age of 11 years, while young males reach maturity when they are 9 years old.
The biggest threats to Northern red-bellied cooters include wetland loss, habitat fragmentation, pollution, and collection of turtles for pets, food, or other trophies. They also suffer from competition with the invasive Red-eared slider turtle for food, habitat, basking sites or nesting sites, and the potential for hybridization with Red-eared slider turtles.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Northern red-bellied cooter total population size. There is an estimated population size of this spcies in the following areas: the Jug Bay protected area in Maryland - around 100 individuals; in Massachusetts - around 200-300 individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List.
