The Apalachicola snapping turtle (Macrochelys apalachicolae) is a proposed species that lives in the Apalachicola River, United States. The proposed species can as well be found within other panhandle rivers within the states of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.
Taxonomy It has traditionally been included as part of the widespread species M. temminckii, but an analysis in 2014 recommended treating it as distinct. A study published the following year considered this change unwarranted, and recommended that M. apalachicolae should be considered a junior synonym of M. temminckii, and this is followed by the Reptile Database,Reptile Database: Macrochelys temminckii. Retrieved 26 September 2017. IUCN's Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group,Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R. Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van Dijk, P.P.]. 2017. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (8th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Pritchard, P.C.H., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 7:1–292. . and the Committee On Standard English And Scientific Names (Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles).Ronald M. Bonett, Jeff Boundy, Frank T. Burbrink, Brian I. Crother, Kevin de Queiroz, Darrel R. Frost, Richard Highton, John B. Iverson, Elizabeth L. Jockusch, Fred Kraus, Kenneth L. Krysko, Adam D. Leaché, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Roy W. McDiarmid, Joseph R. Mendelson III, Peter A. Meylan, Tod W. Reeder, Sara Ruane, Michael E. Seidel (2017). Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular no. 43.
Conservation The Apalachicola snapping turtlesTortue Paradise and other species of snapping turtle have been described as endangered due to human activity, which is causing the destruction to their natural habitats.
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