The Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is native to northeastern Mexico and the adjacent southwestern United States.
Rio Grande cooter | |
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Rio Grande Cooter at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas | |
A baby Rio Grande Cooter from Kinney County, Texas | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
Family: | Emydidae |
Genus: | Pseudemys |
Species: | P. gorzugi
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Binomial name | |
Pseudemys gorzugi | |
Synonyms[3] | |
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The Rio Grande cooter is found in the Rio Grande drainage of Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas), New Mexico, and Texas.[2][3]
The preferred natural habitat of P. gorzugi is freshwater wetlands, at altitudes of 259–1,082 m (850–3,550 ft).[1][4]
The specific name, gorzugi, is in honor of George R. Zug, the Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles at the National Museum of Natural History.[5][6]