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Terrapene carolina (common box turtle)

Reptilia - Testudines - Emydidae

Synonyms
  • Terrapene innoxia was named by Hay (1916) [spelt inoxia by Oelrich 1953 and innoxia by Milstead 1956 and Holman and Fritz 2005]. Its type specimen is USNM 8824, a shell, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Vero, which is in a Pleistocene channel sandstone/sandstone in Florida.

    It was synonymized subjectively with Terrapene canaliculata by Barbour and Stetson (1931) and Milstead (1956); it was synonymized subjectively with Testudo carolina by Auffenberg (1958) and Holman and Fritz (2005); it was synonymized subjectively with Terrapene carolina by Vlachos (2018).
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1820Terrapene carolina Merrem
1902Terrapene carolina Hay p. 449
1916Terrapene innoxia Hay
1930Terrapene carolina Hay p. 98
1930Terrapene innoxia Hay p. 99
1953Terrapene innoxia Oelrich p. 34
1956Terrapene carolina Milstead p. 168
1958Terrapene carolina Auffenberg
1985Terrapene carolina Holman
1995Terrapene carolina Parris and Daeschler p. 564
2012Terrapene carolina Joyce et al. p. 185
2014Terrapene carolina van Dijk et al.
2018Terrapene carolina Vlachos

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
RankNameAuthor
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
—Testudinata(Oppel 1811)
orderTestudinesBatsch 1788
suborderCryptodira
—Pantestudinoidea
superfamilyTestudinoidea
familyEmydidaeRafinesque 1815
genusTerrapeneMerrem 1820
speciescarolina()

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Terrapene carolina Linnaeus 1758 [common box turtle]
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Testudo carolina carolina Linnaeus 1758 [Eastern box turtle]
Testudo carolina major Agassiz 1857 [Gulf Coast box turtle]
Testudo carolina triunguis Agassiz 1857 [three-toed box turtle]
Invalid names: Terrapene innoxia Hay 1916 [synonym]
Testudo carolina bauri Taylor 1894 [Florida box turtle]
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Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmeanminimummaximum
carapace height35364.054.071.0

Composition: phosphaticsubp
Body part: carapaceg
Adult length: 0.1 to < 1.0g
Grouping: solitaryg
Environment: terrestrialg
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingg
Diet: omnivoreg
Reproduction: oviparousg
Created: 2005-08-26 07:12:19
Modified: 2005-08-26 09:12:19
Source: g = genus, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Hendy et al. 2009, Ernst and Barbour 1989, Carroll 1988

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Clarendonian to the top of the Holocene or 12.50000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 9.4 Ma

Collections (35 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Clarendonian12.5 - 9.4USA (Kansas) Terrapene carolina (18450)
Blancan4.9 - 1.8USA (Florida) Terrapene carolina (19764)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (South Carolina) Terrapene carolina (65405)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Terrapene carolina (206227)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Pennsylvania) Terrapene carolina (20479)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Kansas) Terrapene carolina (20422 20423)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Maryland) Terrapene carolina (20302)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Texas) Terrapene carolina (20337 20530)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Florida) Terrapene carolina (20400)
Middle Pleistocene (glacial)0.774 - 0.129USA (Florida) Terrapene carolina (75974)
Middle Pleistocene (interglacial)0.774 - 0.129USA (Mississippi) Terrapene carolina (164395)
Rancholabrean0.3 - 0.012USA (Florida) Terrapene carolina (20440 20491)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Virginia) Terrapene carolina (82258)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Georgia) Terrapene carolina (20604 20613)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Terrapene carolina (20573 20580 20593 20594 20616 20650 79667)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Texas) Terrapene canaliculata (79632)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (high glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Texas) Terrapene carolina (93103)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Terrapene carolina (154722)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Terrapene carolina (20638 74292 154804 154805) Terrapene innoxia (34269)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Georgia) Terrapene carolina (13066)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Florida) Terrapene carolina (227371)