Description: Closely related to the more easterly occurring River cooter turtle complex, this species can be just as magnificently patterned and colored as its cousins. The carapace, or top shell, is olive or green and is adorned with a barrage of curved yellowish lines and rhombus shapes of varying thickness.

The plastron, or bottom shell, is colored with a deep yellow or even reddish pigmentation and has a dark feature that follows the seams of plastron scales. In exceptionally colored specimens, the underside of the carapace is also colored like the plastron.

The head and neck are olive-colored and are decorated with bright yellow lines of varying thickness. The coloration of the lines on the limbs and tail are usually more orange or red. Rarely, all of these colorations on older adult males will fade to the point that the turtle is just olive-black in overall coloration.

This native turtle is medium sized, with sexually mature adults ranging in carapace size from just under 7 to nearly 10 inches. Females are the larger sex, while the males are much smaller.

Habitat: Habitat includes rivers and their more permanent tributary streams (Garrett and Barker 1987), particularly larger, deeper stream pools with relatively clear water and sandy or rocky bottoms. Occupied waters may have a muddy, sandy, or rocky bottom, and may or may not contain aquatic vegetation.

Range: Range includes the Rio Grande watershed of Texas and northeastern Mexico from Brownsville northward to Brewster County, Texas, and the Pecos River drainage of northwestern Texas (Culberson, Reeves, and Loving counties) and southeastern New Mexico, north to Brantley Reservoir.

Found in these States: NM | TX

Diet: Rio Grande Cooters are omnivores, feeding on aquatic insects, dead or dying fish, and vegetation. Juveniles are more carnivorous than the adults.

Reproduction: It is thought that mating in this species occurs in the spring, and unlike its close relatives, virtually nothing is known about its courtship or other breeding habits. If this species is similar to its relatives, the female will lay her clutch of less than 10 eggs in late spring.

Once the eggs are laid in what the female deems as a suitable nest, which is dug out with the hind legs of the mother, they incubate for approximately two to three months. Once the young hatch, they must make the perilous journey back to the water on their own.

Status: USFWS (2022) concluded that the best available information does not indicate that the magnitude and scope of individual stressors would cause the species to be in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future, and they did not find any evidence of a concentration of threats at any biologically meaningful scale in any portion of the species’ range.

On July 11, 2012, USFWS received a petition requesting that 53 species of reptiles and amphibians, including the Rio Grande cooter, be listed as endangered or threatened and critical habitat be designated under the Act. Based on the review of the petition and sources cited in the petition, USFWS (2015) find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted.

Subspecies: None

Taxonomy: