On the occurrence of the Pond Slider Turtle Trachemys scripta (Thunberg in Schoepff, 1792) from southwestern Türkiye

Abstract

Trachemys scripta is included among the 100 most invasive species worldwide. Since the first report on the presence of pond slider turtles from natural habitats in Türkiye, the distribution of this invasive species comprises almost thirty provinces. However, it spread to much wider sites than the regions determined until today. Besides, there is a lack of knowledge on which subspecies exist in the invaded habitats. Within this study, we presented the presence of two subspecies of the invasive alien slider turtle for the first time from the Reşadiye, Datça, Muğla, Türkiye. We also suggest certain precautions should be taken against slider turtles to contribute to preventing their invasion of our biodiversity.