The yellow-blotched map turtle (Graptemys flavimaculata), or yellow blotched sawback is a species of turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

 in the Emydidae

Emydidae

Emydidae, commonly called the pond turtles or marsh turtles, is a family of turtles. Previously, several species of Asian box turtle were classified in the family. However, revised taxonomy has separated them to a different family. Now, Emydidae, with the exception of two species of pond turtle,...

 family. They are a part of the narrow headed group of map turtles

Graptemys

Graptemys is a genus of turtles known commonly as map turtles or sometimes sawback turtles. They are aquatic, freshwater turtles that are found throughout the eastern half of the United States and northward into southern Canada. They superficially resemble many other species of aquatic turtle,...

. This species is listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act due to a recent decline. This can be attributed to a low reproductive frequency as compared with most other map turtles, with a maximum of 1.16 clutches per female. A high level of nest mortality due to fish crow predation and river flooding are also attributed to endangerment. Unexpectedly high occurrences of nesting in shaded areas could possibly be attributed to human disturbances on and near sandbars, which raises mortality rates.

Range

It is endemic to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Its habitat is limited to the Pascagoula River

Pascagoula River

The Pascagoula River is a river, about 80 mi long, in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. The river drains an area of about 8,800 sq mi and flows into Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico....

 of Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

 and most of its tributaries (a range it shared with the Pascagoula map turtle

Pascagoula Map Turtle

The Pascagoula map turtle is a species of turtle in the Emydidae family. It is endemic to the Pascagoula River in the United States. It formerly included a population in the Pearl River, but in 2010 this was described as a separate species, the Pearl river map turtle...

), and suffers from pollution and agricultural changes to the water levels, affecting nesting beaches. "Turtle plinking" kills significant portions of this endangered turtle's population each year. Males have a mean home range area of 1.12 ha

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

 and a mean home range length of 1.8 km. Females have a mean home range area of 5.75 ha, due to nesting activities, and a mean home range length of 1.5 km.

Description

Yellow blotched map turtles are medium to small sized turtles, with males ranging from 3.5 to 4.5 inches in size as adults. Adult females are larger, about 5 to 7.5 inches long. The yellow blotched has the highest central keel of all map turtles.

Diet

Yellow blotched map turtles feed mostly on insects, but are opportunistic feeders so also consume crustaceans and fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

.