The Pearl River map turtle (''Graptemys pearlensis'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of emydid

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked ...

native to the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. According to a study done in January 2017, the species ''G. pearlensis'' was significantly less abundant in the Pearl River region as compared to ''G. oculifera'' and exhibited a smaller number of reproductively mature females. Further, this study highlighted statistical and observational evidence that this species exhibited female-biased, sexual dimorphism.

Geographic range

It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

. The

ringed map turtle The ringed map turtle or ringed sawback (''Graptemys oculifera'') is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae endemic to the southern United States. Geographic range It is frequently found in the Pearl River system in Louisiana and Miss ...

(''G. oculifera'') is also endemic to the Pearl River.

Taxonomy

Until 2010, it was included in the Pascagoula map turtle (''G. gibbonsi''), which it resembles. In 2010 Ennen and colleagues described ''Graptemys pearlensis'' as a new species. They used sequence variation of the mitochondrial control region along with the ND4 gene and found out three samples of ''Graptemys pearlensis'' constituting reciprocally monophyletic sister clades.

References

External links

* Graptemys Reptiles of the United States Endemic fauna of the United States Reptiles described in 2010 {{Turtle-stub