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The alligator snapping turtle is North America’s largest freshwater turtle and may reach a size of up to 250 pounds
 Effective June 14, 2006, the United States listed thirteen native freshwater turtle species in Appendix III of CITES – the alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys [=Macrochelys] temminckii) and all twelve species of map turtle (Graptemys spp.). (A large number of tortoises and freshwater turtles are listed in CITES Appendices I and II, and all marine turtles are listed in Appendix I; including the turtles listed by the United States, there are a total of thirty-eight (38) freshwater turtle species listed in Appendix III).
Once a species is listed under CITES, any international trade in the species, either as live specimens or parts or products, must be accompanied by a valid CITES document. Although many map turtle species and the alligator snapping turtle are regularly farmed or produced in captivity in the United States, those farmed turtles, and any parts or products from them, are also covered by the Appendix-III listing and CITES document requirements apply.
Domestic trade in these species is not affected under Federal law due to their listing in CITES Appendix III. CITES requirements only apply when the species are being exported, imported, or re-exported across international borders.
U.S. Turtle Species in Appendix III |
| Species |
Common Name |
Range States in the United States and Provinces of Canada |
| Macroclemys [=Macrochelys] temminckii |
Alligator snapping turtle |
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana (uncertain), Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas |
| Graptemys barbouri |
Barbour’s map turtle |
Alabama, Florida, and Georgia |
| Graptemys caglei |
Cagle’s map turtle |
Texas |
| Graptemys ernsti |
Escambia map turtle |
Alabama and Florida |
| Graptemys flavimaculata |
Yellow-blotched map turtle |
Mississippi |
| Graptemys geographica |
Common map turtle |
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin (Canada - Ontario and Quebec) |
| Graptemys gibbonsi |
Pascagoula map turtle |
Louisiana and Mississippi |
| Graptemys nigrinoda |
Black-knobbed map turtle |
Alabama and Mississippi |
| Graptemys oculifera |
Ringed map turtle |
Louisiana and Mississippi |
| Graptemys ouachitensis |
Ouachita map turtle |
Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin |
| Graptemys pseudogeographica |
False map turtle |
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida (uncertain), Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin |
| Graptemys pulchra |
Alabama map turtle |
Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi |
| Graptemys versa |
Texas map turtle |
Texas |
The official list of all species in Appendix III is maintained by the CITES Secretariat.
General Information
- Federal Register Notices
January 26, 2000 Proposed Rule
December 16, 2005 Final Rule
- News Release . Native U.S. Turtles Gain International Protection
December 16, 2005 News Release
- CITES Notification No. 2006/019. Appendix III.
March 16, 2006 Notification
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