Rio Grande Cooter

Fascinating facts about the Rio Grande Cooter

• A 390-kilometer stretch of the Pecos River in Texas is practically empty of Rio Grande cooters, likely because the water’s conductivity can’t support them. That gap runs from Loving and Reeves counties into Crockett County, creating a natural barrier within their otherwise continuous range. It shows how even subtle chemistry can shape the distribution of a whole species.
• These turtles favor freshwater wetlands that sit between 259 and 1,082 metres above sea level – roughly the height of a 70-story building to a mountain pass. Their presence from low river valleys up to higher plateau wetlands demonstrates a surprisingly broad altitude tolerance. It reminds us that habitat preference isn’t just about water type, but also elevation.
• A female Rio Grande cooter can lay up to two clutches in a single year, each clutch holding anywhere from five to seventeen eggs.
• The diet of the Rio Grande cooter varies with age, sex, and location, mixing animal and plant foods in varying proportions.

At a glance

About the Rio Grande Cooter

The Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) is found in freshwater wetlands of the Rio Grande drainage in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, New Mexico and Texas, at altitudes of 259–1,082 m (850–3,550 ft). It is omnivorous, and females lay one to two clutches per year, each containing 5–17 eggs.

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