No confirmed photo of Big Bend Slider
Big Bend Slider
Trachemys gaigeae
- Conservation
- State NM: Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) 2025
New Mexico Turtles: Identification Guide With Pictures
Last checked November 3, 2026 against official sources.
This page lists 13 turtles: all from New Mexico Department of Wildlife's BISON-M species search, taxonomic name "Testudines". 1 is nonnative.
All 13 turtles
From A to Z.
Bolson's Tortoise
Gopherus flavomarginatus
- Conservation
- Federal: Endangered; State NM: Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) 2025
Eastern Box Turtle
Terrapene carolina
- Size
- Small: adult shell usually 4.5 to 6 inches; up to about 7 to 8 inches (Alabama, Virginia).
- How to recognize it
- High, domed upper shell
- Hinged lower shell that closes the turtle in completely
- Ridge (keel) down the center of the shell, more obvious in young
Midland Smooth Softshell Turtle
Apalone mutica mutica
- Conservation
- State NM: Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) 2025
Ornate Box Turtle
Terrapene ornata
- Conservation
- State NM: Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) 2025
Red-eared Slider
Trachemys scripta elegans
Snapping Turtle
Chelydra serpentina serpentina
- Size
- Upper shell usually 8 to 14 inches, occasionally to nearly 20; usually 10 to 35 lb, occasionally to 75 lb in the wild.
- How to recognize it
- Large head, long tail
- Saw-toothed scales on the long tail
- Small, cross-shaped lower shell
Sonora Mud Turtle
Kinosternon sonoriense sonoriense
- Conservation
- State NM: Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) 2025
No confirmed photo of Sonoran Desert Tortoise
Sonoran Desert Tortoise
Gopherus morafkai
,_Oberseite.jpg){kind=link}
Spiny Softshell Turtle
Apalone spinifera
Western Painted Turtle
Chrysemys picta bellii
- Conservation
- State NM: Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) 2025
No confirmed photo of Western River Cooter
Western River Cooter
Pseudemys gorzugi
- Conservation
- State NM: Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) 2025; State NM: Threatened
Yellow Mud Turtle
Kinosternon flavescens flavescens
Turtles people confuse
Eastern box turtle or Ornate box turtle?
Eastern box turtle Not stated
Ornate box turtle Not stated
The ornate box turtle usually has no ridge down the shell and has many yellow lines radiating from the center of each shell plate; it is more of a grassland species.
Photos show typical adults; individuals vary. Never get close to compare.
When turtles are active in New Mexico
Records of turtles in New Mexico peak in April to June and August to September. They show when people record turtles, not how many there are (about month bars).
About this list
The species list comes from BISON-M species search, taxonomic name "Testudines" (New Mexico Department of Wildlife) (New Mexico Department of Wildlife (BISON-M, with Natural Heritage New Mexico), live database export 2026-11-03).
Venom labels come only from official sources and link to them; "Not stated" never means harmless. How labels work.
"Nonnative" and "Invasive" follow the wording of the source list. See invasive species in New Mexico.
Sources
- Living With Wildlife. New Mexico Department of Wildlife (formerly New Mexico Department of Game and Fish). page modified 2026-10-26; checked November 3, 2026.
- BISON-M (Biota Information System of New Mexico) species search export: taxonomic name "Testudines". New Mexico Department of Wildlife (BISON-M, with Natural Heritage New Mexico). database queried November 3, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
- GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.