Yellow Blotched Sawback

Graptemys flavimaculata – Map turtles are sometimes called “sawbacks” because of the toothlike projections down the center of their shell. The yellow-blotched sawback increasingy faces threats of pollution in its river habitat. Of the 12 or so species of map turtle, seven are in decline. The yellow-blotched sawback has the smallest range, living mainly along the Pascagoula River and the Leaf and Chickasawhay Rivers in Mississippi. Exports of map turtles to Britain, Europe, Japan, and Taiwan rose from 325 in 1985 to 84,546 in 1995. [Read more]