Pseudemys concinna (LeConte) – River Cooter
Pseudemys concinna (LeConte) – River Cooter

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Legend
     Exact locality, based on specimen(s) or photographs examined
     Exact locality, based on literature record believed valid
     Approximate locality based on specimen(s) or photographs examined
     Approximate locality based on literature record believed valid
     County record only, based on specimens or photographs examined
     County record only, based on literature report believed valid
     Type locality
?      Questionable and/or problematic record

 

Taxonomy:  Of the two subspecies of River Cooter recognized by Iverson et al. (2012), only P. c. concinna (Eastern River Cooter) occurs in Tennessee (Ernst and Lovich 2009). 

Distribution: Pseudemys concinna has been documented across Tennessee in all major drainage systems, but many gaps in its distribution still remain.  Records cited below from Middle and East Tennessee help connect an isolated population in southeastern Kentucky and northeastern Tennessee (Ernst and Lovich 2009, Conant and Collins 1998) with the main body of the species' range. 

Museum Records by Counties: BentonAPSU 6122.  ChesterAPSU 19491.  CoffeeUSNM 323038. DeKalbTTU 357-362.  DyerAPSU  19445.  HamblenUMMZ 96255-96260. HamiltonLSUMZ 75198.  HardinAPSU 19551.  HaywoodAPSU 18230.  HoustonAPSU 5943, 5953, 6015.  HumphreysUMMZ 99229.  LakeCMNH 87764, 87765, 87768-87771, 89859, 89860, 89924, 95444-95455, 95483-95487, 95510-95513, 95523, 95532-95535, 95539, 96061, 96114-96120, 96148-96151, 96159, 101384-101413; FLMNH 1179; INHS 15674; MoSU R3650; TU 20601; UIMNH 1365;  USNM 100653, 100654, 103459, 103466-103469; UTKVZC 6631, 6639.  LawrenceAPSU 19955.  MarionFLMNH 36993.  MarshallAPSU 19235.  MontgomeryAPSU  2980, 4755.   ObionAPSU 2320, 11985, 13789, 13792; KU 88773-88776; MoSU R3654-R3656; UL 4130, 4208, 4209, 4333; UMMZ 83052; USNM 102679.  PerryAPSU 11984, 19970; TU 16050.  PolkAPSU 18914, 18960; FLMNH 45463, 115894-115899.  SevierUSNM 86728.  ShelbyAPSU 7997, 12684, 12732, 13790; UMMZ 98585, 98586.  StewartAPSU 706, 936, 18190.  WhiteTTU 529. 

Literature Sources by Counties: AndersonMeyers-Schöne and Walton (1990), Meyers-Schöne et al. (1993).  ChesterButterfield et al. (2014).  ClaiborneEwert (1979), Campbell (2013d).  CoffeeMiller et al. (2005). DavidsonHolbrook (1842); Rhoads (1895).  DyerFlaherty et al. (2014b).  FayetteReam (2008).  FranklinGentry (1956).  HardinButterfield et al. (2015).  HumphreysWilliamson (2001a).  JacksonGentry (1941), Shoup et al. (1941).  LakeParker (1948), Gentry (1956), Hutchinson et al. (1966), Collins et al. (1997), Freedberg et al. (2005).  LawrenceSchroth et al. (2019).  LincolnLindeman (2017b).  MarionIverson (1978).  MarshallFoster et al. (2013).  ObionRhoads (1895), Parker (1948), Burger et al. (1949), Gentry (1956), Hutchinson et al. (1966), Collins et al. (1997).  RoaneJohnson (1964), Van Dyke et al. (2013).  RutherfordEdney (1949).  SevierHuheey and Stupka (1965) ShelbyRhoads (1895), Gentry (1956), Hassell (1961), Justis (2006).

Questionable and/or Erroneous Records: The listing of a literature report for Pseudemys concinna from Davidson County is based on the following description of its geographic distribution by Holbrook (1842), who referred to it by the name Emys hirogyphica: “It is found in our western waters.  Professor Troost, of Nashville, Tennessee, furnished me with a beautiful living specimen from the Cumberland river.”

Conservation Status: None.

Posted: 23 September 2009

Latest Revision: 18 November 2019


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