(photograph by Ernest C. Simmons)
George L. Heinrich and Tim Walsh (Bruce Museum) recently completed a week of fieldwork on several Florida rivers within the southern distribution of the Suwannee cooter (Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis). Accurate delineation of this species' distribution is vital to assuring appropriate conservation and management efforts. Other than limited references to this species in the Alafia River in both the scientific and gray literature, little is known regarding its occurrence south of the Weeki Wachee River. The paucity of fieldwork conducted in the past illustrates the need for basic research in this region. This project is generating much-needed data for a species that is known to be data-deficient. The distribution map below was prepared prior to our documentation (Walsh and Heinrich 2015) of the Suwannee cooter's occurrence on the Pithlachascotee River. Check back soon to learn the exciting results of our recent fieldwork.
