2008/06/26 by Kurt A. Buhlmann, Whitfield Gibbons, Dale R. Jackson · 2 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Immunology and Microbiology · Environmental Science · #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Bird parasitology and diseases #Environmental and Biological Research in Conflict Zones #Turtle (robot) #Zoology #Biology #Fishery
paper · pdf · doi:10.3854/crm.5.014.reticularia.v1.2008
openalex publication_date 2008/06/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
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. distriBution. -USA. The range extends from North Carolina, through peninsular Florida, to eastern Texas, primarily in the coastal plain, and includes populations in Virginia and Oklahoma through Arkansas to southeastern Missouri.