Question 18 (Large Headed Map Turtles)
18A:Shell olive, tan, or greenish with thin yellow or light green circular markings, sharp black spines along keel of shell. Greenish mask-like blotch around face and eyes. Lower shell whitish with dark pigment along scute seams. Found in Appalachicola river system of the Florida Panhandle and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. See an example
Barbour's Map Turtle, Graptemys barbouri
18B:Shell olive or brown with yellow or orange interconnecting lines, that may be obscure in older turtles. Black stripe along keel, which has sharp spines. Yellow, orange, or chocolate brown mask-like blotch around face and eyes. Lower shell whitish with faint darker patterning. Found throughout most of Alabama and eastern Mississippi.
Alabama Map Turtle, Graptemys pulchra
18C:Shell olive or brown with faint yellow interconnecting lines that fade towards the center of the shell. Black stripe along keel, which has sharp spines. Three separate greenish or brownish blotches around face and eyes. Lower shell whitish with faint dark lines along scute seams. Found only in the Escambia river and adjacent streams of the western edge of the Florida panhandle, as well as adjacent areas of southeastern Alabama.
Escambia Map Turtle AKA Ernst's Map Turtle, Graptemys ernsti
18D:Shell brown with black stripe along keel, which has sharp spines. Bright vertical orange lines along upper edge of shell. Three separate yellow or greenish blotches on face. Lower shell whitish with black along scute seams. Found only in the Pearl river in Louisiana and adjacent southwestern Alabama.
Pearl River Map Turtle AKA Pascagoula Map Turtle, Graptemys gibbonsi
