Red-eared slider
No sign-up needed. You can save notes on this device.
An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Male red-eared sliders sometimes turn completely black.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Red-eared slider
- Scientific name
- Trachemys scripta elegans
- Japanese name
- ミシシッピアカミミガメ（ミドリガメ）
- Group
- Amphibians and reptiles
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Emydidae
- Genus
- Trachemys
The red-eared slider is a subspecies of the pond slider, Trachemys scripta.
Its original home is the southern United States to northeastern Mexico. Today it can also be seen in waters almost all over Japan.
Orange-red patches stand out on both sides of its head. Its toes are webbed, which makes them good for swimming.
When young it eats mostly animals, but as it grows up it becomes an omnivore that eats both plants and animals.
How the Red-eared slider lives
It is active during the day and basks in the sun. Mating takes place in spring and autumn. A male courts a female by vibrating his elongated claws in front of her. The female digs a hole in the ground and lays eggs in it.
国立環境研究所 侵入生物データベースBasic data
- Size
- Carapace length: up to 28 cm
- Diet
- Algae, aquatic plants, aquatic insects, crayfish, shrimp, shellfish, fish and other foods
Where the Red-eared slider has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 简体中文
- 红耳龟
- 繁體中文
- 紅耳龜
- 한국어
- 미시시피붉은귀거북
- Español
- Jicotea elegante
- Français
- Tortue de Floride
- Deutsch
- Rotwangen-Schmuckschildkröte
- Português (Brasil)
- Tartaruga-de-orelha-vermelha
- Italiano
- Tartaruga dalle orecchie rosse
- हिन्दी
- रेड-इयर्ड स्लाइडर
- العربية
- سلحفاة حمراء الأذنين
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Kura-kura brazil
- Tiếng Việt
- Rùa tai đỏ
- ไทย
- เต่าญี่ปุ่น
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 国立環境研究所 侵入生物データベース — ミシシッピアカミミガメChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Trachemys scriptaChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeRELATIVES
Others in Emydidae
MORE TO MEET
