Deirochelys
reticularia (Latreille 1801) - Chicken Turtle
Kurt A. Buhlmann1, J. Whitfield Gibbons1, and Dale R. Jackson2
1University
of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Lab, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina
29802 USA
2Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Florida State University,
1018 Thomasville Road, Suite 200-C, Tallahassee, Florida 32303 USA
Abstract:
The chicken turtle, Deirochelys reticularia (Family Emydidae),
is a semi-aquatic turtle inhabiting temporary and permanent freshwater
and adjacent terrestrial habitats throughout much of the Atlantic and
Gulf Coastal Plains of the USA. Three subspecies are recognized: D.
r. reticularia, D. r. chrysea, and D. r. miaria. Local
population sizes are generally small; as such, chicken turtles are seldom
the dominant species of turtle at any site. The species differs from most
other North American turtles in having a nesting season that extends from
fall to spring, followed by a long incubation period. Threats to this
species come from the disruption, destruction, or isolation of freshwater
wetlands, including small or temporary ones, and the elimination or alteration
of surrounding terrestrial habitats. The species is not currently considered
globally endangered, though some peripheral populations (e.g., those in
Missouri and Virginia) are listed as locally endangered.
SREL Reprint #3087
Buhlmann,
K. A., J. W. Gibbons, and D. R. Jackson. 2008. Deirochelys reticularia
(Latreille 1801) - Chicken Turtle. In: A.G.J. Rhodin, P.C.H. Pritchard,
P.P. van Dijk, R.A. Saumure, K.A. Buhlmann, and J.B. Iverson (Eds.). Conservation
Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of
the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian
Research Monographs 5: 014.1-014.6.
