Spotted box turtle

The spotted box turtle (Terrapene nelsoni) is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico.

Spotted box turtle
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Emydidae
Genus:	Terrapene
Species:	T. nelsoni
Binomial name
Terrapene nelsoni Stejneger, 1925
Synonyms[3]
Terrapene nelsoni nelsoni Terrapene nelsoni Stejneger, 1925 Terrapene nelsoni nelsoni — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955 Terrepene nelsoni — Pawley, 1971 Terapene nelsoni — Nietzke, 1973 Terrapene nelsoni klauberi Terrapene klauberi Bogert, 1943 Terrapene nelsoni klauberi — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955 Terapene klauberi — Nietzke, 1973

Etymology

The specific name, nelsoni, is in honor of American biologist Edward William Nelson.^[4]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies (listed in alphabetical order by subspecific name).^[5]

• Northern spotted box turtle (Terrapene nelsoni klauberi) Bogert, 1943
• Southern spotted box turtle (Terrapene nelsoni nelsoni) Stejneger, 1925

References

1. Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (2016) [errata version of 1996 assessment]. "Terrapene nelsoni ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T21643A97298467. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T21643A9304626.en. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
3. Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 200. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895.
4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Terrapene nelsoni, p. 188).
5. Species Terrapene nelsoni at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.

Sources

• Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (1996). Terrapene nelsoni. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 29 July 2007.

Further reading

Stejneger L (1925). "New species and subspecies of American turtles". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 15 (20): 462–463. (Terrapene nelsoni, new species, p. 463).