Mauremys leprosa
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris Zoological Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Aquarium du palais de la Porte Dorée | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Parc du Belvédère | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | |
| 4 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Seville Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | L'Oceanogràfic | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Zoo de Córdoba | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Zoo Koki (Parque zoológico y botánico) | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Zoo Lagos | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 10 | Aquarium Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Acuario de Sevilla | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 12 | Aquarium of Gijón | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Aquarium River of Zaragoza | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 14 | Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 15 | Fluviário de Mora | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 16 | Atlantis Aquarium Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain |
No species of the same family or order lives in Sierra Nevada National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Mediterranean Turtle sighting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, based on 55 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 9th most-seen of the 14 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and September
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Mediterranean Turtle in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June–July, October and December, the lowest months.
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.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Mediterranean Turtle sightings, Sierra Nevada National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Monfragüe National Park (Spain, about 40%) and Doñana National Park (Spain, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mediterranean Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Sierra Nevada National Park (55 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
