Recognition:
Semiaquatic; short tail; rigid carapace and plastron, carapace with
roughly jagged rear edge; large dark spots on plastron; carapace dark with pattern
of black and yellowish lines; plastron yellow or light brown with large dark brown
or black spots; limbs and tail dark gray or greenish with yellow stripes; head same
color but has broad red stripe behind each eye plus yellow stripes above and below;
old adults may turn progressively darker in color until almost completely black;
adult females grow much larger than males; male turtles have longer claws on front
feet than females.
Distribution:
The Slider is a semi-aquatic turtle found throughout much of Kansas
(in all major river drainages). It is absent from the northwestern portion of the state and
along its northern and western borders (except for the single record from Wallace County).
The range (and numbers) of this species may be increasing due to construction of new
impoundments. Red dots indicate records backed by voucher specimens or images. A specimen exists for Greenwood County (USNM 55543) but is only given to county, and therefore cannot be mapped precisely. The records mapped by Collins (1993) from Chase and Marion counties, are unknown and not mapped.
Two specimens (KU 3258-9) from Wallace County (summer 1911) are given to county only. It was recently rediscovered (Collins, 2007)on Willow Creek lending credibility to those earlier records.
County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences)
Allen (11), Anderson (1), Atchison (1), Barber (22), Barton (2), Bourbon (10), Butler (4), Chautauqua (10), Cherokee (16), Clark (16), Coffey (2), Comanche (20), Cowley (6), Crawford (5), Dickinson (1), Doniphan (9), Douglas (6), Elk (5), Ellis (7), Ellsworth (1), Finney (11), Ford (2), Franklin (6), Geary (2), Grant (1), Gray (1), Greenwood (3), Harper (11), Harvey (3), Hodgeman (7), Jefferson (1), Johnson (2), Kingman (5), Kiowa (17), Labette (20), Lincoln (6), Linn (10), Lyon (2), McPherson (1), Meade (17), Miami (17), Mitchell (2), Montgomery (28), Morris (1), Neosho (13), Ness (2), Osage (1), Osborne (5), Ottawa (3), Pawnee (1), Pottawatomie (1), Pratt (7), Reno (6), Rice (4), Riley (1), Russell (5), Saline (5), Sedgwick (2), Seward (21), Shawnee (1), Stafford (3), Sumner (9), Trego (1), Wallace (3), Wilson (9), Woodson (2), Wyandotte (3)
Growth and Longevity:
Adults normally 125203 mm (58 inches) in carapace length. Largest specimen
from Kansas is a female (KU 189281) from Douglas County with a carapace length
of 290 mm (11 3/8 inches) and a weight of 4.2 kilograms (9 pounds, 3 ounces), collected
by Rob Ladner on 23 June 1981. Maximum carapace length throughout range: 11 3/8 inches (Conant and Collins, 1998).
Fossil Record:
Pleistocene fossil specimens are known from Rice, McPherson, Meade, Ellsworth, Seward, and Jewell counties.
References: 1993. Collins, Joseph T. Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Lawrence. Pp. 397.
- 108 museum vouchers > 30 yrs.
- 125
museum vouchers < 30 yrs.
- 210
observations.
- 0
literature observations.
38 - DOR