Mediterranean Turtle

Mediterranean Turtle

Mauremys leprosa

Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Lisbon

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%

60 Verified sightings at Lisbon
410 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Mediterranean Turtle

The Iberian pond turtle (Mauremys leprosa), also known as the Mediterranean pond turtle or Mediterranean turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is endemic to southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa.

Including the nominotypical subspecies, there are two sub-species which are accepted: M. leprosa leprosa (Schweigger, 1812) – Iberian pond turtle M. leprosa saharica Schleich, 1996 – Saharan pond turtle Mauremys leprosa is native to the western mainland Mediterranean Basin, stretching from the tip of southern France to the northwestern Maghreb (in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya). It is most frequent in the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain).

Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-12-15. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
2 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
3 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
4 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Marrakesh 🇲🇦 Morocco
~50%
2 Lisbon 🇵🇹 Portugal
~10%
3 Porto 🇵🇹 Portugal
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Paris Zoological Park 🇫🇷 France In captivity
2 Aquarium du palais de la Porte Dorée 🇫🇷 France In captivity
3 Parc du Belvédère 🇹🇳 Tunisia In captivity
4 Wilhelma 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
5 Seville Zoo 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
6 L'Oceanogràfic 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
7 Zoo de Córdoba 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
8 Zoo Koki (Parque zoológico y botánico) 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
9 Zoo Lagos 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
10 Aquarium Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
11 Acuario de Sevilla 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
12 Aquarium of Gijón 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
13 Aquarium River of Zaragoza 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
14 Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
15 Fluviário de Mora 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
16 Atlantis Aquarium Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity

Closest Relatives at Lisbon

No species of the same family or order lives in Lisbon, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Mediterranean Turtle in Lisbon?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mediterranean Turtle sighting in Lisbon on a given day, based on 60 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 8th most-seen of the 21 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Mediterranean Turtle in Lisbon?

February to December

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mediterranean Turtle in Lisbon on a given day, against under 5% in January, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Mediterranean Turtle?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mediterranean Turtle sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Lisbon the best place to see a Mediterranean Turtle?

2nd of 3

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Mediterranean Turtle sightings, Lisbon ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Marrakesh (Morocco, about 50%).

Where does the Mediterranean Turtle sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Mediterranean Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Lisbon (60 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

← Back to Lisbon