There is a dispute over the correct genus of the eastern redbelly turtle. Some choose to use Pseudemys while others use Chrysemys. Oftentimes, Chrysemys is used only for painted turtles.
There is little known communication among P. rubriventris. They frequent the same rocks and logs while sunbathing and often sit on top of each other. Regarding Pseudemys concinna, a closely related species, females communicate by the emission of pheromones and males by tactile contact and a mating dance.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: pheromones
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Red-bellied turtles are considered endangered according to the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The subspecies P. rubriventris bangsi is considered threatened by the Lacey Act. This makes it illegal to import, export, transport, sell, or buy any part of the animal, dead or alive. The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for maintaining water treatment plants that do not harm the turtles. Main causes of endangerment include expanding housing developments and a loss of nesting sights, pollutants, pesticides, and predation on eggs and hatchlings. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enacted a plan in 1985 to protect existing populations, to prevent hunting of the turtles, to collect eggs to hatch in captivity, and to educate the local public on the turtles.
US Federal List: threatened
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: lower risk - near threatened
Psuedemys rubriventris lay eggs under 10 cm of sand. The young emerge as hatchlings after 73 to 80 days and quickly make their way to the nearest water source, where they will develop into adults. Hatchlings are typically between 29 and 36 mm in plastron length. Eastern red-bellied turtles reach sexual maturity after 5 to 9 years.
There are no known adverse effects of P. rubriventris on humans.
Red-bellied turtles were economically important to humans in the colonial times as a source of food and trade. Today, their shells make decorative art. Doctors have an interest in the workings of the turtles' hearts and have performed operations recorded in scientific journals. Red-bellied turtles also help control the population of hyacinth, an invasive aquatic plant.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material; research and education; controls pest population
Eastern red-bellied turtles act as both predator and prey. Their prey include crayfish, snails, fish, and tadpoles. Predators of P. rubriventris include bullfrogs, skunks, raccoons, wading birds, crows, and mice. Eastern redbelly turtles play an important role in the middle of the food chain. They also are responsible for controlling the population of hyacinth, an invasive plant.
Red-bellied turtles primarily eat aquatic vegetation and algae such as Myriophyllum, Utricularia, and Sagittaria. Secondary food sources include crayfish, snails, fish, and tadpoles. Juveniles are herbivorous and adults are omnivorous. Laboratory hatchlings can be fed brine shrimp
Animal Foods: amphibians; fish; insects; mollusks; aquatic crustaceans
Plant Foods: leaves; algae; macroalgae
Primary Diet: herbivore (Algivore); omnivore
The range of Pseudemys rubriventris spans the Mid-Atlantic coastal waters of the USA from New Jersey to North Carolina. This includes areas east to the Potomac River and west to W. Virginia. There is a disjunctive population of eastern red-bellied turtles in Massachusetts, as well as a small, introduced population in Long Island, New York.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Eastern red-bellied turtles inhabit large freshwater lakes, rivers, ponds, and creeks. Most of these waters are fast moving, deep-bodied, and contain a muddy bottom where the water depth ranges from 2-3.5 m. Occasionally, P. rubriventris are found in brackish water at the mouths of rivers. They surround themselves with aquatic vegetation, rocks, and logs for basking in the sun. Eastern red-bellied turtles become terrestrial for short periods of time while laying eggs in June or July. They show little evidence of migration and often occupy the same habitat year-round.
Range depth: 2 to 3.5 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial ; freshwater
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams; brackish water
Other Habitat Features: suburban ; riparian ; estuarine
The lifespan of P. rubriventris ranges from 40 to 55 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 40 to 55 years.
The carapaces of adult red-bellied turtles are on average 26 to 32 cm in length. The carapace is a mahogany black color with red lines running dorso-ventrally. They have a serrated front upper-jaw. The head is brown and arrow-shaped with a yellow line that extends between the eyes and snout. A series of consecutive thick and thin yellow bands come off the anterior of the eye and travel laterally down the neck. This species exhibits sexual dimorphism. The plastrons of male red-bellied turtles are light pink. They have long, straight claws on their feet and an anal opening that extends beyond the shell. The females are larger than the males with brighter red plastrons containing gray borders. The hatchlings of P. rubriventris have an orange plastron and a green carapace covered with light green markings. The skin is light green as well. A possible subspecies, P. rubriventris bangsi of Massachusetts, has a greater height (by 2.4 times) due to a more domed carapace.
Range mass: 3900 (high) g.
Range length: 40 (high) cm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry ; polymorphic
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger; sexes colored or patterned differently; ornamentation
Common predators of P. rubriventris include raccoons, skunks, crows, herons, and bullfrogs. Lawn mowers frequently kill turtles resting in grass. Housing developments around rivers and ponds result in loss of nesting sights. Crows, rats, and mice eat the hatchlings and eggs. Red-bellied turtles escape predators by burying themselves in the mud, swimming aggressively, or by withdrawing into their shells.
Known Predators:
The mating of P. rubriventris has never been observed. Scientists know mating does occur in shallow water in the fall or spring. With regards to a closely related species, Pseudemys concinna, the male pursues the female and sniffs her tail after the female releases a pheromone. In the following mating ritual, he then swims above and in front of her in the water and rapidly strokes her face with his claws. If a female P. concinna accepts his advances, the male then swims behind the female, mounting her for copulation.
Mating System: polygynous
Female eastern red-bellied turtles dig a nest cavity 10 cm wide by 10 cm deep in the sand in early June or July. This nest cavity is found in a well-insulated area 90 m from the water, and 1 m above pond level. Pseudemys rubriventris produce one clutch of eggs yearly containing 8 to 22 eggs. Hatching occurs in 73 to 80 days. The hatchlings emerge from August to October. If late nesting occurs, hatchlings do not emerge before the winter. Eggs incubated on natural sand are larger and have a better chance of survival than eggs incubated in artificial settings. Due to the loss of natural habitats, female red-bellied turtles sometimes lay eggs in homeowner's yards. Females try to return to the same nesting sights every year.
Breeding interval: Once yearly
Breeding season: Egg laying occurs in June-July
Range number of offspring: 8 to 22 .
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 5 to 7 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 9 years.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; oviparous
Female P. rubriventris provide no parental care once they lay their eggs and cover the nest.
Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth
