Morphometric data for five freshwater turtles in south, central, and west Texas

Donald J Brown; Ivana Mali; Melissa C Jones; Michael R J Forstner

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2020.105356

Morphometric data for five freshwater turtles in south, central, and west Texas

Data Brief. 2020 Feb 29:29:105356. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2020.105356. eCollection 2020 Apr.

Authors

Donald J Brown^{1

2}, Ivana Mali³, Melissa C Jones⁴, Michael R J Forstner⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA.
² Northern Research Station, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Parsons, WV, 26287, USA.
³ Department of Biology, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM, 88130, USA.
⁴ Natural Resources Program, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Brownsville, TX, 78521, USA.
⁵ Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA.

Abstract

From 2008 to 2013, we sampled freshwater turtle populations at 66 sites in south, central, and west Texas, USA. Sampling sites included ponds, lakes, resacas (oxbow lakes), canals, and rivers. We sampled turtle populations using baited hoop nets (66 sites) and basking traps (3 sites), and captured turtles by hand opportunistically in terrestrial habitat. We measured carapace length and width, plastron length and width, body depth, and weight of captured turtles. Excluding recaptures, we measured 356 Apalone spinifera emoryi (Texas Spiny Softshell), 24 Chelydra serpentina (Snapping Turtle), 20 Kinosternon flavescens (Yellow Mud Turtle), 47 Trachemys gaigeae (Big Bend Slider), and 1070 Trachemys scripta elegans (Red-eared Slider). Carapace length of Apalone spinifera emoryi ranged from 85 to 426 mm (mean = 182 mm). Carapace length of Chelydra serpentina ranged from 74 to 320 mm (mean = 233 mm). Carapace length of Kinosternon flavescens ranged from 64 to 147 mm (mean = 114 mm). Carapace length of Trachemys gaigeae ranged from 54 to 203 mm (mean = 141 mm). Carapace length of Trachemys scripta elegans ranged from 30 to 328 mm (mean = 171 mm). These data are useful for assessing spatial and temporal variation in size and body condition of freshwater turtles.

Keywords: Apalone spinifera emoryi; Carapace; Chelydra serpentina; Kinosternon flavescens; Plastron; Trachemys gaigeae; Trachemys scriptaelegans; Weight.