Semiaquatic Turtles of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas

Streams and ponds in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (TPNP), Chase County, KS, provide habitat for semiaquatic turtles, but turtle distribution and abundance in these waters is poorly documented. We compiled a list of semiaquatic turtles from unpublished reports of herpetofaunal sampling at TPNP, and sampled lower Fox Creek during summer 2014 to inventory the Preserve's semiaquatic turtle community. We collected 58 individuals of five turtle species, including one Mississippi Map Turtle, Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii, a new record for TPNP.