The Alabama red-bellied cooter, Pseudemys alabamensis (Family Emydidae), is a poorly known aquatic species, most closely allied with members of the P. rubriventris complex. It is an Alabama and Mississippi endemic, found in the lower part of the Mobile Bay Drainage Basin in Mobile and Baldwin counties, Alabama, as well as the Pascagoula River and Back Bay of Biloxi watersheds in Harrison and Jackson counties, Mississippi. The species was designated as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987 and as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. Threats to the species include predation by hogs, raccoons, crows, and fire ants; harvesting and collecting (including human consumption of eggs); destruction of submerged vegetation beds by dredging; pollution and development; destruction of nesting habitat; bulkheading of bayous (preventing access of females to upland nesting sites); incidental capture by recreational fishermen on baited hooks; and injury from boat propellers and vehicular traffic. A recovery plan for the species was approved in 1990. Pseudemys alabamensis is the Official State Reptile of Alabama.

USA. Restricted to the lower Mobile Bay drainage of southwestern Alabama and the Biloxi drainage of southeastern Mississippi.

Formerly throughout the lower part of the Mobile River system below David Lake, Baldwin and Mobile counties, Alabama; as far north as the Little River State Park in southern Monroe County, and perhaps east into the Florida Panhandle as far as Apalachee Bay. Current distribution: Mobile Bay and tributary streams.

endemic to a single nation

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (1000-5000 square km (about 400-2000 square miles)) Formerly throughout the lower part of the Mobile River system below David Lake, Baldwin and Mobile counties, Alabama; as far north as the Little River State Park in southern Monroe County, and perhaps east into the Florida Panhandle as far as Apalachee Bay. Current distribution: Mobile Bay and tributary streams, Baldwin and Mobile counties, Alabama; apparently most abundant from Hurricane Landing on Tensaw River south to northern part of Mobile Bay north of Interstate Highway 10 (Dobie and Bagley 1988). The primary nesting site for this species is reported to be Gravine Island in Baldwin County, but there are several additional nesting locations, such as the Mobile Bay Causeway (Nelson 2003).

Continent: North-America
Distribution: USA (Mobile Bay, Alabama, Mississippi)  
Type locality: Mobile Bay, Alabama

Historic Range:
U.S.A. (AL)

Length: 34 cm

Syntype for Pseudemys alabamensis
Catalog Number: USNM 20967
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Amphibians & Reptiles
Sex/Stage: Female;
Preparation: Dry
Year Collected: 1885
Locality: Mobile Bay, Baldwin - Mobile, Alabama, United States, North America

Syntype for Pseudemys alabamensis
Catalog Number: USNM 20966
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Amphibians & Reptiles
Sex/Stage: Male;
Preparation: Dry
Year Collected: 1885
Locality: Mobile Bay, Baldwin - Mobile, Alabama, United States, North America

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Terrestrial
• Freshwater

Comments: Most abundant in quiet backwaters of upper Mobile Bay in areas with dense submerged vegetation, in water generally 1-2 m deep; also in river channels; occurs only as a straggler in brackish water and salt marsh areas of lower Mobile Bay (McCoy and Vogt 1985). Uses dense beds of aquatic vegetation for basking.

Nest are made on sand spoil banks, on natural levees, and along river (Dobie and Bagley 1988, Nelson 2003).

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Nelson (1998) radiotagged 43 individuals on Gravine Island and tracked them from November, 1997 to October, 1998. Most remained in the vicinity of the Island, but others moved long distances. The researchers recorded straight-line movements as far as 17.9 km north (Negro Lake Basin) and 15.8 km south (Big Bay John).

Comments: Eats primarily aquatic plants (Mount 1975).

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 1 - 5

Comments: Few known nesting areas (Nelson 2003).

1000 - 10,000 individuals

Comments: Population size is unknown but perhaps falls within the indicated range.

Important nest predators include domestic pig (at least formerly) and fish crow; alligator probably preys on adults (Dobie and Bagley 1988).

Comments: Generally diurnal, though females lay eggs at night. Young probably emerge at night but also are primarily diurnal (Dobie and Bagley 1988).

Lays clutch or clutches of 3-9 eggs, May to July (Behler and King 1979, Dobie and Bagley 1988).

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 0
Specimens with Barcodes: 1
Species With Barcodes: 1

IUCN 2007 Red List: Endangered (EN B1+2c) (assessed 1996, needs updating); CITES: Not Listed; US ESA: Endangered.

Year Assessed

• Needs updating

Assessor/s

Reviewer/s

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N1 - Critically Imperiled

Rounded Global Status Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled

Reasons: Restricted to northern Mobile Bay and tributary streams in Alabama; recently recorded in Mississippi; only one known major nesting site in Alabama; continued threats from predation and human disturbance.

Intrinsic Vulnerability: Highly to moderately vulnerable.

Other Considerations: Low recruitment rate.

Current Listing Status Summary

Status: Endangered
Date Listed: 06/16/1987
Lead Region:   Southeast Region (Region 4) 
Where Listed:


Population detail:

Population location: entire
Listing status: E

For most current information and documents related to the conservation status and management of Pseudemys alabamensis , see its USFWS Species Profile

Global Short Term Trend: Relatively stable to decline of 30%

Comments: Apparently declining in abundance though data are not definitive. USFWS (1990) categorized the status as "unknown."

Global Long Term Trend: Increase of 10-25% to decline of 50%

Degree of Threat: B : Moderately threatened throughout its range, communities provide natural resources that when exploited alter the composition and structure of the community over the long-term, but are apparently recoverable

Comments: Sensitive to disturbance when nesting and basking. Human disturbance (camping, off-road vehicles) in major nesting area and harvest may be significant (Dobie and Bagley 1988, USFWS 1987). Egg predation by pigs and fish crows is another threat, as is shooting.

Biological Research Needs: Little is known about the behavior and ecology of this turtle.

Global Protection: Unknown whether any occurrences are appropriately protected and managed

Comments: No critical habitat has been designated. Nests in Meaher State Park (Nelson 2003). May exist in Little River State Park, Alabama.

Needs: Protect principal habitat (especially nesting site). Restrict recreational use of nesting site. Eliminate/reduce predation by humans and other animals. See Dobie and Bagley (1988) for draft recovery plan (finalized in 1990).

Comments: Eggs and adults sometimes are harvested for pet trade or human food (Dobie and Bagley 1988).

Comments: Has been placed in genus Chrysemys by some authors. See Carr and Crenshaw (1957) and Seidel (1994) for taxonomic appraisal. Mississippi population possibly is taxonomically distinctive; further study is needed (T. Mann, pers. comm., 2002).