About Pseudemys nelsoni Carr, 1938
Pseudemys nelsoni, commonly known as the Florida red-bellied cooter, can be distinguished from other similar turtle species by two key traits: its distinctive red-tinged plastron, or belly, and two tooth-like cusps on its upper beak. Like most other members of the genus Pseudemys, this species is a fairly large river turtle. Mature individuals have a straight-line carapace length that ranges from 20.3 to 37.5 cm, or 8.0 to 14.8 inches. Females are noticeably larger than males: females average 30.5 cm (12.0 inches) in carapace length and weigh 4 kg (8.8 lb), while males average around 25 cm (9.8 inches) in carapace length and 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) in mass. This species is native to Florida and southern Georgia in the United States. Pleistocene Epoch fossils of Pseudemys nelsoni have also been found along the coast of South Carolina, showing the species' historic range extended farther north than it does today. This former northern range is now occupied by the Florida red-bellied cooter's northern counterpart, the Northern Red-bellied Cooter, Pseudemys rubriventris.
