Delta Map Turtle
By: Rachell McDonald
Information on the Delta Map Turtle
The turtles are seasonally active from April to late November. Another name for the Delta Map turtles is the Black Knobbed Map Turtle. One of their characteristics is the protruding spikes on the outer shell used for protection.
Males reach sexual maturity between the ages of 3-4 and females is between 7-8. They mostly stay in rivers of the Mobile Bay in both Alabama and Mississippi. The black-knobbed map turtle is endemic to the southeastern United States. In Alabama they are mostly found in the Mobile Bay drainage. In Mississippi, they are found in the Tombigbee system. They are only able to survive in fresh water river systems.
The turtles are classified as near threatened by IUCN Red List. They are threatened by the habitat degradation and humans removing the only way of their protection which is the logs and other sources.