Meso-American Slider

The Meso-American slider (Trachemys venusta) is a species of turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. The species is distributed from Mexico to Colombia.

Meso-American slider
T. v. venusta in Belize
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Emydidae
Genus:	Trachemys
Species:	T. venusta
Binomial name
Trachemys venusta (Gray, 1856)
Synonyms
Trachemys venusta venusta Emys venusta Gray, 1856 Emys valida LeConte, 1860 Clemmys valida — Strauch, 1862 Callichelys venusta — Gray, 1863 Emys (Clemmys) salvini Günther, 1885 Pseudemys salvini — Cope, 1887 Emys valida — Malnate, 1971 Pseudemys scripta venusta — Moll & Legler, 1971 Chrysemys scripta venusta — Henderson & Hoevers, 1975 Trachemys scripta venusta — Iverson, 1985 Trachemys ornata venusta — Walls, 1996 Trachemys venusta venusta — Seidel, 2002 Trachemys venusta cataspila Emys ventricosa Gray, 1856 Pseudemys ventricosa — Gray, 1870 Emys (Clemmys) cataspila Günther, 1885 Pseudemys cataspila — Cope, 1887 Chrysemys ornata var. cataspila — Boulenger, 1889 Pseudemys scripta cataspila — Carr, 1938 Pseudemys ornata cataspila — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955 Chrysemys scripta cataspila — H.M. Smith & R.B. Smith, 1975 Trachemys scripta cataspila — Iverson, 1985 Trachemys ornata cataspila — Fritz, 1995 Trachemys venusta cataspila — Seidel, 2002 Trachemys venusta grayi Emys grayi Bocourt, 1868 Callichelys grayii — Gray, 1870 (ex errore) Emys umbra Bocourt, 1876 Pseudemys umbra — Cope, 1887 Callichelys grayi — Boulenger, 1889 Chrysemys grayi — Boulenger, 1889 Clemmys umbra — Strauch, 1890 Chrysemys umbra — Lindholm, 1929 Pseudemys grayi — Carr, 1938 Pseudemys ornata grayi — Stuart, 1963 Pseudemys scripta grayi — Legler & Webb, 1970 Chrysemys scripta grayi — H.M. Smith & R.B. Smith, 1975 Pseudemys scripta umbra — Pritchard, 1979 Trachemys scripta grayi — Iverson, 1985 Trachemys grayi — King & Burke, 1989 Trachemys ornata grayi — Walls, 1996 Trachemys venusta grayi — Seidel, 2002

The species Trachemys venusta is found from southeastern Mexico to northwestern Colombia.

• Trachemys venusta venusta – Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico in the states of Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz, and Yucatán
• Trachemys venusta cataspila – Mexico in the states of San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz
• Trachemys venusta grayi – El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico in the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca

The following three new subspecies were described in 2010.

• Trachemys venusta iversoni – Mexico in the state of Yucatán
• Trachemys venusta panamensis – Panama
• Trachemys venusta uhrigi – Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Colombia in the departments of Antioquia and Chocó

• Trachemys venusta venusta (Gray, 1856) – Belize slider
• Trachemys venusta cataspila (Günther, 1885) – Huastecan slider
• Trachemys venusta grayi (Bocourt, 1868) – Gray's slider
• Trachemys venusta iversoni McCord, Joseph-Ouni, Hagen & Blanck, 2010 – Yucatán slider
• Trachemys venusta panamensis McCord, Joseph-Ouni, Hagen & Blanck, 2010 – Panamanian slider
• Trachemys venusta uhrigi McCord, Joseph-Ouni, Hagen & Blanck, 2010 – Uhrig's slider

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Trachemys.

The subspecific name, grayi, is in honor of British herpetologist John Edward Gray.