TURTLE SPECIES OF THE UNITED STATES

A dedicated informational page is being developed for each species.

Click here for a printable checklist of turtle species of the United States.
 

CHELONIIDAE

Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)

Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)

Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)

CHELYDRIDAE

Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Apalachicola alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys apalachicolae)

Suwannee alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys suwanniensis)

Alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)

DERMOCHELYIDAE            

Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

EMYDIDAE

Western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata)

Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta)

Spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Chicken turtle (Deirochelys reticularia)

Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)

Wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)

Bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)

Barbour’s map turtle (Graptemys barbouri)

Cagle’s map turtle (Graptemys caglei)

Escambia map turtle (Graptemys ernsti)

Yellow-blotched map turtle (Graptemys flavimaculata)

Common map turtle (Graptemys geographica)

Pascagoula map turtle (Graptemys gibbonsi)

Black-knobbed map turtle (Graptemys nigrinoda)

Ringed map turtle (Graptemys oculifera)

Ouachita map turtle (Graptemys ouachitensis)

Pearl River map turtle (Graptemys pearlensis)

False map turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica)

Alabama map turtle (Graptemys pulchra)

Sabine map turtle (Graptemys sabinensis)

Texas map turtle (Graptemys versa)

Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)

Alabama red-bellied cooter (Pseudemys alabamensis)

River cooter (Pseudemys concinna)

Coastal Plain cooter (Pseudemys floridana)

Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi)

Florida red-bellied cooter (Pseudemys nelsoni)

Northern red-bellied cooter (Pseudemys rubiventris)

Texas cooter (Pseudemys texana)

Common box turtle (Terrapene carolina)

Ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornata)

Big Bend slider (Trachemys gaigeae)

Common slider (Trachemys scripta)                

KINOSTERNIDAE

Arizona mud turtle (Kinosternon arizonense)

Striped mud turtle (Kinosternon baurii)

Yellow mud turtle (Kinosternon flavescens)

Rough-footed mud turtle (Kinosternon hirtipes)

Sonora mud turtle (Kinosternon sonoriense)

Common mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum)

Razor-backed musk turtle (Sternotherus carinatus)

Flattened musk turtle (Sternotherus depressus)

Loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor)

Common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)

TESTUDINIDAE

Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)

Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri)

Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)

Sonoran desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai)

TRIONYCHIDAE

Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox)

Smooth softshell turtle (Apalone mutica)

Spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera)

We follow the taxonomy used by Meylan (2006) and the Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2014).

Meylan, P.A. (Ed.). 2006. Biology and Conservation of Florida Turtles. Chelonian Research Monographs No. 3, Chelonian Research Foundation, Lunenburg, Massachusetts. 376 pp.
 
Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [van Dijk, P.P., J.B. Iverson, A.G.J. Rhodin, H.B. Shaffer, and R. Bour]. 2014. Turtles of the world, 7th edition: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution with maps, and conservation status. In A.G.J. Rhodin, P.C.H. Pritchard, P.P. van Dijk, R.A. Saumure, K.A. Buhlmann, J.B. Iverson, and R.A. Mittermeier (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(7): 000.329–479, Chelonian Research Foundation, Lunenburg, Massachusetts. 
 

Photo credits:
Top banner: Gulf Coast box turtle (Terrapene carolina major) by George L. Heinrich
Bottom: loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus m. minor) by George L. Heinrich