picture by: Robert H. Mount

The official reptile of Alabama is the Alabama Red-bellied Turtle. It lives in the fresh and brackish water of the Mobile Delta in Mobile and Baldwin counties. They are only found in Alabama. Few studies have been done on the Alabama Red-bellied Turtle and so little is known about its life history. In 1990 the Alabama Red-bellied Turtle was named the Official Reptile of Alabama.

Red-bellied Turtle Facts

• The official Reptile of Alabama was placed on the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species List in 1987.

• Adult turtles are about one foot long.

• Red-bellied turtles may live as long as fifty years.

• The scientific name of the Alabama Red-bellied Turtle is Pseudemys alabamensis.

Sources:

Act 90-82, Acts of Alabama, February 13, 1990

Roger B. Clay. Reptiles and Amphibians in Alabama. Wildlife Section, Game and Fish Division, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

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Updated: January 25, 2010

http://www.archives.alabama.gov/kids_emblems/st_reptile.html