''Actinemys'' is a small

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Emydidae Emydidae (Latin (freshwater tortoise) + Ancient Greek (, "appearance, resemblance")) is a family of testudines (turtles) that includes close to 50 species in 10 genera. Members of this family are commonly called terrapins, pond turtles, or mar ...

."''Actinemys'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.or

The genus is Endemism, endemic to the west coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The genus contains two species.

Species

The following two species are recognized as being valid. *''

Actinemys marmorata The western pond turtle (''Actinemys marmorata''), also known Common name, commonly as the Pacific pond turtle is a species of small to medium-sized turtle in the Family (biology), family Emydidae. The species is Endemism, endemic to the western ...

'' – northwestern pond turtle, northern Pacific pond turtle *'' Actinemys pallida'' – southwestern pond turtle, southern Pacific pond turtle ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Actinemys''.

Taxonomy

Both species are sometimes included in the genus ''

Emys ''Emys'' is a small genus within the family Emydidae. The genus ('' sensu lato''), consisting primarily of freshwater pond turtles, is endemic to Europe. It is the only genus in the Emydidae outside of North America. Species The following two ...

'' (''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

''). ''Actinemys pallida'', the southwestern pond turtle, has been a recent split from ''Actinemys marmorata'', of which it was previously considered a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

Species

Taxonomy

References

Further reading