Species:

Trachemys scripta

Synonyms:

Trachemys scripta (Schoepff, 1792) Slider
1792 Testudo scripta Schoepff
1831 Emys vittata Gray
1889 Crysemys scripta, Boulenger
1899 Pseudemys scripta, Jordan
xxxx Pseudemys grayi
xxxx Pseudemys ornata

Trachemys scripta scripta (Schoepff, 1792) Yellowbelly Slider
1802 Testudo serrata Daudin
1937 Pseudemys scripta scripta, Carr
1986 Trachemys scripta scripta, Iverson

Trachemys scripta elegans (Wied, 1838) Red-eared Slider
1839 Emys elegans Wied
1844 Emys holbrooki Gray
1855 Emys sanguinolenta Gray
1873 Trachemys lineata Gray
1889 Chrysemys scripta var. elegans, Boulenger
1944 Pseudemys scripta elegans, Cagle
1986 Trachemys scripta elegans, Iverson

Trachemys scripta hiltoni
1942 Pseudemys scripta hiltoni Carr

Trachemys scripta ornata
1855 Emys venusta Gray
1860 Emys valida Le Conte (?)
1885 Emys salvini Günther
1885 Emys cataspila Günther
1889 Chrysemys ornata var. cataspila, Boulenger
1934 Pseudemys ornata ornata, Mertens et al.

Trachemys scripta troostii (Holbrook, 1836) Cumberland Slider
1836 Emys troosti Holbrook
1840 Emys cumberlandensis Holbrook
1889 Chrysemys troostii, Boulenger
1937 Pseudemys scripta troostii, Carr
1986 Trachemys scripta troostii, Iverson

Subspecies:

Trachemys scripta scripta
Trachemys scripta cataspila
Trachemys scripta chichiriviche
Trachemys scripta elegans
Trachemys scripta emolli
Trachemys scripta grayi
Trachemys scripta hartwegi
Trachemys scripta hiltoni
Trachemys scripta ornata
Trachemys scripta taylori
Trachemys scripta troostii
Trachemys scripta venusta

Family:

Testudines: Emydidae

Distribution:

USA (SE-Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, N-Florida,
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana,
Tennessee, Kentucky, S/E-Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico)
Mexico (Yucatan), Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil
Colombia [Castro,F. (pers. comm.)]

Comment:

T. scripta and T. dorbigni are closely related and there is still some confusion about the taxonomy of their subspecies.

photo: http://gto.ncsa.uiuc.edu/pingleto/herps/turtles.html

References:

Ernst,C.H. & Barbour,R.W. (1989)
Turtles of the World
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London

Schwartz,A. & Henderson,R.W. (1991)
Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies
University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 720 pp.

Conant,R. & Collins,J.T. (1991)
A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America
Houghton Mifflin (Boston/New York), xx + 450 p.

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