Herpetofauna - One Life's List

Mississippi Map Turtle
Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii

Big Muddy River, Jackson Co., Illinois.  July 30 2005
 
I've looked at a lot of turtles on the Big Muddy over the years; some have been Map Turtles, and the problem always arises - which Map Turtle?  Graptemys in this part of the world are a bit of a muddle.  The markings on Big Muddy Maps seem to vay from turtle to turtle.

Turtle spotting (and turtle photography) from a canoe are tough, but binoculars pulled in the crescent-shaped white mark behind the eye.  I managed to shoot a couple shaky photos before the canoe  crossed that invisible line and bloop! into Big Muddy went the Map Turtle.  I'll mark this one down as the Mississippi Map, based on the markings around the eye.

 
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