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Trachemys callirostris

Trachemys callirostris

(Gray, 1856)

Family: Emydidae
Order: Testudines
Class: Reptilia
Phylum / Division: Chordata
Kingdom: Animalia

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Description


Trachemys callirostris is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae found in Colombia and Venezuela. The species is divided into two subspecies: the Colombian slider (T. c. callirostris) and the Venezuelan slider (T. c. chichiriviche), both of which are found in watersheds draining into the Caribbean Sea.

Taxonomy: The first description of the species was published by John Edward Gray in 1856, then under the name Emys callirostris. The species has since then undergone numerous reclassifications, being placed into the genus Trachemys by John B. Iverson in 1985, but then as a subspecies of the Pond slider. Michael E. Seidel classified the turtle as its own species in 2002, which was the first usage of the combination Trachemys callirostris. The name callirostris is derived from , meaning beautiful in Greek, and , meaning snout in Latin.

There are two recognized subspecies: the Colombian slider (T. c. callirostris) and the Venezuelan slider (T. c. chichiriviche). The name chichiriviche is derived from the name of the hill in Falcón, Venezuela, where the first recorded specimen of the subspecies was found.

 The carapace of the turtle´s shell grows to in males and in females. It is highest near its center and widest further toward the posterior of the turtle, where it is also slightly serrated. The carapace can be green, olive or brown, and on each pleural there is a yellow to reddish circle with a dark spot in the middle of it, with the circle and the spot being interspaced with the regular color of the carapace. The plastron is yellow to very light brown, with an intricate pattern of dark lines across the entirety of it. The head of the turtle has yellow lines and a splotch behind the ears, similarly to Trachemys scripta.

Distribution and habitat: The two subspecies are found in two geographically discontiguous areas of Colombia and Venezuela. The Colombian slider is endemic to a part of the Caribbean Sea´s drainage basin that is centered on the lower sections of the Magdalena River and the Cauca River. Most of its range is in northern Colombia, but a part of it is in Zulia, Venezuela, on the western shore of Lake Maracaibo. The Venezuelan slider is endemic to the coastal watersheds between the Tocuyo River and Morón River, spanning the Venezuelan states of Falcón, Yaracuy and Carabobo. The turtles lives in slow rivers, lakes, swamps, and ponds, in areas with floating vegetation and logs to bask on, and they can to some extent tolerate brackish water.

Source: Wikipedia, article Trachemys callirostris. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 18/07/2026.





Geographic distribution


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Species photographs

Count: 2

Foto
Photography ID: 703764
  Adult

Buritaca
Magdalena
Colombia
03/01/2025
Diego Alfonso Rosa
Foto
Photography ID: 532347
 
Laguna El Tabacal
Cundinamarca
Colombia
03/26/2023
Hugo Caverzasi


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Species records

Count: 2



Page 1 of 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
252532001/03/2025ColombiaMagdalenaRio Don Diego, BuritacaDiego Alfonso Rosa
175241726/03/2023ColombiaCundinamarcaLaguna El TabacalHugo Caverzasi
Page 1 of 1

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Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Trachemys callirostris – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 14/09/2026.