THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY
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Reptilia    Testudines    Emydidae  

Alabama Map Turtle
Graptemys pulchra Baur, 1893
grap-TEH-meez — PUL-kruh

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

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Occurrences:; 509 Total; 283 Museum; 226 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Alabama Georgia Mississippi

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its bold pattern and large size.
Graptemys — Greek graptos = “inscribed” or “marked” + emys = “turtle” — referring to the map-like patterns on the carapace.
pulchra — Latin pulcher, pulchra = “beautiful” — referencing its striking appearance.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Alabama Map Turtle (Graptemys pulchra: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Alabama Sawback Turtle (Graptemys pulchra: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1893 Baur, G. Notes on the classification and taxonomy of the Testudinidae. IV. The species of the genus Pseudemys. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 31:221-225
1952 Cagle, Fred R. The status of the turtles Graptemys pulchra Baur and Graptemys barbouri Carr and Marchand, with notes on their natural history. Copeia 1952(4):223-234
1976 Shealy, Robert M. The natural history of the Alabama Map Turtle Graptemys pulchra Baur, in Alabama. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences 21(2):47-111
1981 Dobie, James L. The taxonomic relationship between Malaclemys Gray, 1844 and Graptemys Agassiz, 1857 (Testudines: Emydidae). Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany. 23(1):85-102
1985 Lovich, Jeffrey E. Graptemys pulchra.. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (360):1-2
1992 Lovich, John E. and McCoy, Clarence J. Review of the Graptemys pulchra group (Reptilia: Testudines: Emydidae), with descriptions of two new species. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 61(4):293-315
1994 McCoy, Clarence J., Jr., and Richard C. Vogt. Graptemys. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (584):1-3
1994 Lamb, Trip, Charles Lydeard, R. B. Walker, and J. Whitfield Gibbons. Molecular systematics of map turtles (Graptemys): A comparison of mitochondrial restriction site versus sequence data. Systematic Biology 43:543-559
2017 Praschag, Peter, Flora Ihlow, Morris Flecks, Melita Vamberger, and Uwe Fritz. Diversity of North American map and sawback turtles (Testudines: Emydidae: Graptemys). Zoologica Scripta 46:675-682

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 10 August 2026 03:05 CT