Mauremys rivulata
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The Balkan terrapin or western Caspian terrapin (Mauremys rivulata) is a species of terrapin in the family Geoemydidae. It is found in the eastern Mediterranean region. While technically omnivorous, the terrapins are known to prefer meat. They can grow to 25 cm (10 in) in carapace length, although hatchlings are usually only 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in) in length.
It is found in the Balkan Peninsula (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia), in a number of Mediterranean islands including Crete, Cyprus and Lesvos, and in the Middle East (Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey). On some Greek and Turkish islands where the terrapins are found, they may be threatened with extirpation.
Mauremys rivulata are fairly large, with carapace lengths up to 25 cm (10 in); hatchling turtles of this species are usually between 3 and 4 centimetres (1.2 and 1.6 in) in length. The average strait carapace length is roughly 15 cm (6 in); females are slightly larger. The terrapins' carapaces are black to olive green in colour, and the plastron (the shell on the belly) black, although the latter frequently fades... Wikipedia →
Recording0:05
Greece · 2023
© sixtyna · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Bioparque Municipal Vesty Pakos | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Hai Kef | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 4 | Tel Aviv University Zoo | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 5 | Animal - Bird Collection | 🇬🇷 Greece |
No species of the same family or order lives in Tel Aviv, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Western Caspian Turtle sighting in Tel Aviv on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 14 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and August
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Western Caspian Turtle in Tel Aviv on a given day, against about 10% in February and July, the lowest months. Those are among Tel Aviv's driest months, with almost no rain against 90 mm in January.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Western Caspian Turtle sightings, Tel Aviv ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Antalya (Turkey, about 50%) and Jerusalem (Israel, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Caspian Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Tel Aviv (49 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.
