Range: Texas - The Cagle's Map Turtle (Graptemys caglei) is found in the Guadalupe, San Antonio and San Marcos Rivers. It is also found in a lot of the streams, creeks and lakes that are connected to this rivers.
Description: The "Green" Map Turtle, as many call it, is basically a greenish color with the typical map turtle pattern on the shell. Like the Texas Map Turtle, Graptemys versa, it is a smaller species than the other Graptemys species. Males are around 4.5 inches and females get up to 7 inches. G. caglei is a narrow-head species, although it does not belong to the sawback group. It does not have real high carapacial keels like the sawbacks or the pulchra group.
Habitat: This turtle lives in relatively fast moving, muddy rivers in Southwest Texas. It is fond of brush piles, like all map turtles, and spends much of the day basking. Females like to bask in deeper water than males and juveniles. The Texas Graptemys rivers are very different from the typical southeastern map turtle rivers. They are more muddy and tend to have swift currents.
Legal Status: Threatened in Texas and therefore protected.
Other Information: In the places I have gone looking for this turtle, it does not appear to be uncommon. This turtle is found with the the following species: Pseudemys texana (Texas Cooter), Trachemys scripta elegans, (Red-Eared Sliders), Sternotherus odoratus (Common Musk {Stinkpot}), Apalone spinifera guadalupensis (Guadalupe Spiny Softshell), Chelydra serpentina (Common Snapping Turtle). G. caglei is very difficult to approach, it is matched in nervousness only to G. oculifera.
Observations: The green tint of the river is consistent with the greenish color of most of the turtles found here. G. caglei, P. texana, T. scripta and A. s. guadalupensis are all the same green color as juveniles. These turtles really blend in with this beautiful river.
Guadalupe River "Notice the green tint, like G. caglei"