Barbour's Map Turtle

Snapshot

A river map turtle of the Apalachicola system — extreme size difference between small males and huge-headed females (females to ~13 inches). Black-tipped keel knobs; C-shaped markings. Southwest Georgia rivers. Protected context; leave alone.

Photos

(Photos pending — see photos/barbours-map-turtle/MANIFEST.md.)

Description and identification

SREL: extreme sexual dimorphism — males usually <4.7 in; females to ~12.9 in with much larger heads. Olive-brown carapace often algae-covered; keeled with black-tipped spines/knobs. C-shaped marks on pleurals/marginals. Defining interorbital blotch pointing to the nose, linked to post-eye blotches; light chin bar. Adult females darken and lose juvenile patterning.

Look-alikes

Alabama map turtle — Mobile/Coosa drainages; different head mask. Northern map turtle — low keel without big spines; triangular postorbital blotch. Cooters — no map-turtle keel-spine look. Keep the three Georgia map turtles as separate species.

Range in Georgia

Apalachicola and Choctawhatchee systems — SE Alabama, SW Georgia, Florida panhandle. Chattahoochee, Flint, and Chipola: clear, limestone/cobble, mollusk-rich rivers (SREL). Southwest Georgia river specialty.

Habitat preferences

Clear flowing rivers with rock/cobble bottoms, mollusks, fallen trees and rocks for basking. Free-flowing river habitat — reservoirs and siltation destroy mussel prey and nesting sandbars. Invasive plants on sandbars further shrink nest sites.

Natural history

Wary baskers that dive at slight disturbance; some basking even near 10°C but little cold-month activity. Nest June–August on sandbars/banks (sometimes far from water); 4–11 eggs hatch late August–September. Males mature ~4 years; females 15–20 years — female longevity makes adult harvest especially damaging. Temperature-dependent sex determination. Raccoons and fire ants threaten nests.

Food preferences

Adult females: aquatic snails and mussels (powerful jaws); may scrape freshwater sponges. Males/juveniles: softer invertebrates such as caddisflies and dragonfly nymphs.

Temperament and encounters

River specialist — boat/bank viewing only. Extremely wary; never collect.

Conservation and legal notes

Georgia state Threatened (Rule 391-4-10-.09). IUCN vulnerable notes in SREL. Threats: reservoirs/siltation (mussel loss), pollution/shell disease, pet trade, invasive plants on nesting sandbars. Drainage-endemic — high extirpation risk.

In Georgia, native turtles are wildlife. Many species are protected nongame animals; some are state- and/or federally listed. Possession, take, sale, and nesting-beach disturbance rules are species-specific — check current Georgia DNR and USFWS guidance before any collection or relocation. Do not invent statutes. Roads, habitat loss, bycatch, and illegal collection drive many declines. Educational observation from a distance is the default.

If you meet one

Leave listed turtles alone. Do not handle, collect, or casually relocate them. If one is in immediate danger on a road and you can act safely without injury to yourself or the animal, you may gently move it the short distance off the pavement in the direction it was traveling — then step away and report the encounter through current Georgia DNR channels. Never move a listed turtle to a new wetland, never dig nests or burrows, and never publicize precise nest or bog locations. Keep dogs from chasing wildlife. Local educators — including community resources around Cartersville such as Etowah Valley Exotics when appropriate — can help with distant photo ID. This profile is educational, not a husbandry or collecting guide.