Common Box Turtle
Terrapene carolina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Reptilia |
| Order | Testudines |
| Family | Emydidae |
| Genus | Terrapene |
| Species | Terrapene carolina (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Accidental
Distribution
Range
Known from nine counties across six states.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee
Counties
- Alabama
- Jackson, Madison
- Florida
- Alachua
- Georgia
- Dade
- Illinois
- Union
- Kentucky
- Edmonson, Henry
- Tennessee
- Grundy, Hamilton
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
VU Vulnerable
Assessed in 2011.
NatureServe
G5 Secure
National ranks
- Canada
- NX
- United States
- N5 Secure
Subnational ranks
- Ontario
- SX Presumed Extirpated
- New York
- S3 Vulnerable
- Kansas
- S4 Apparently Secure
- New Jersey
- S3 Vulnerable
- New Hampshire
- SNR Unranked
- Alabama
- S5 Secure
- Connecticut
- S3 Vulnerable
- Pennsylvania
- S3 Vulnerable
- Arkansas
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Michigan
- SNR Unranked
- Virginia
- S4 Apparently Secure
- North Carolina
- S5 Secure
- Iowa
- SU Unrankable
- West Virginia
- SNR Unranked
- South Carolina
- S3 Vulnerable
- Mississippi
- S5 Secure
- Illinois
- S5 Secure
- Louisiana
- S5 Secure
- Georgia
- S5 Secure
- Kentucky
- S5 Secure
- Ohio
- SNR Unranked
- Indiana
- S3 Vulnerable
- Tennessee
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Texas
- S3 Vulnerable
- Missouri
- S5 Secure
- Oklahoma
- SNR Unranked
- Massachusetts
- S3 Vulnerable
- District of Columbia
- S3 Vulnerable
- Maine
- SNA Not Applicable
- Florida
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Delaware
- S5 Secure
- Maryland
- S5 Secure
- Rhode Island
- S4 Apparently Secure
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
References
- Godwin, J.C. 2008. Biological inventory of the cave and karst systems of The Nature Conservancy's Sharp-Bingham Mountain Preserve. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn, Alabama, USA. 40 pp.
- Hobbs, III., H.H. 1994. Assessment of the ecological resources of the caves of Russell Cave National Monument, Jackson County, Alabama and of selected caves at the Lookout Mountain Unit of Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park, Dade County, Georgia and Hamilton County, Tennessee. 200 pp.
- Mays, J. 2018. Inventory of Florida's cave fauna with a focus on terrestrial invertebrate species. Progress Report for Florida Park Service. Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tallahassee, Florida, USA. 9 pp.
- McGregor, S.W., Rheams, K.F., O'Neil, P.E., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1994. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 226 pp.
- McGregor, S.W., O'Neil, P.E., Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1997. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin 166: 1–198.
- Niemiller, M.L. & Miller, B.T. 2009. A survey of the cave-associated herpetofauna of the eastern United States with an emphasis on salamanders. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Speleology, Kerrville, Texas, USA, Volume 1: 249–256.
- Peck, S.B. 1973. A systematic revision and the evolutionary biology of the Ptomaphagus (Adelops) beetles of North America (Coleoptera; Leiodidae; Catopinae), with emphasis on cave-inhabiting species. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 145: 29–162. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4336298.
- Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & McGregor, S.W. 1992. Geologic, hydrologic, and biologic investigations in Arrowwood, Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and selected caves, Madison, County, Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 262 pp.
- Webb, D.W., Taylor, S.J. & Krejca, J.K. 1993. The biological resources of Illinois caves and other subterranean environments. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA. 143 pp.
- Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125
How to cite this account
Terrapene carolina (Linnaeus, 1758). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2996. https://cavebiology.org/species/terrapene-carolina/ (accessed 7 September 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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