European Pond Turtle

Q: Is the European pond turtle found in Georgia?

Yes. The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as a biologically confirmed native species.

Q: Where can it be found in Georgia?

In freshwater ponds, lakes, and marshes. In the west, named points include Poti and Colchic coastal wetlands, including shore associated with Churia Fen. In the east the checklist assigns a subspecies, but this page does not shade eastern regions on the map.

Q: How can it be identified?

Low dark shell with yellow speckling, webbed feet, and no red ear stripe. A high dome is a tortoise; a red ear is a slider.

Q: How large does it grow?

In Caucasian Kura-basin forms the shell is often under 16 cm, maximum about 18 cm (Fritz 1998). A separate series for western Georgian populations is not given here.

Q: How do I tell it from a red-eared slider?

The slider is introduced; T. s. elegans has a broad red stripe behind the eye. The pond turtle is native and lacks that stripe.

Q: How do I tell it from a Caspian turtle?

The Caspian turtle is recorded from the southeast and often has pale lengthwise neck stripes. The pond turtle’s shell is usually darker with yellow speckling.

Q: Is it venomous or dangerous?

It has no venom. It may bite if handled. Do not pick it up. Wash a bite and seek care if needed.

Q: Is it protected?

IUCN lists it as Near Threatened. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List.

Emys orbicularis

A native freshwater turtle with a low shell. Not a land tortoise, and it lacks a red ear stripe.

Western and eastern GeorgiaRisk to humansHarmless

At a glance

Key facts in one look

Habitat

Freshwater

Size

often <16 cm

Venom

None

Status in Georgia

Native

Family

Emydidae

Conservation

Human interaction: It has no venom and does not hunt people. It may bite or scratch if picked up. The shell and skin can carry bacteria; wash your hands. Do not take wild turtles home.

Overview

What is European Pond Turtle

The European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) is Georgia’s native freshwater turtle — not a land tortoise and not the introduced slider. The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as biologically confirmed. In western Georgia it lists E. o. orbicularis; in the east, E. o. persica. It belongs to Emydidae. It has no venom. In Caucasian forms the shell is often under 16 cm; adults are medium-sized at species level. IUCN lists it as Near Threatened. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List.

Last updated 8 September 2026

Gallery

European Pond Turtle in photos

European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) — Western and eastern Georgia — Close to wildlife — Photo: Close to wildlife
17 May 2026

European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) — Kumisi Lake — Laura and Bobby Bok — Photo: Laura and Bobby Bok
Kumisi Lake

European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) — Virginia — Levan Kobalia — Photo: Levan Kobalia
Virginia · 21 October 2025

European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) — Dighomi flood — Nikoloz Loladze — Photo: Nikoloz Loladze
Dighomi flood · 13 July 2021

European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) — Ryazan — Полина Яковлевна Нехаева (Лихачева) — Photo: Полина Яковлевна Нехаева (Лихачева) · iNaturalist
Ryazan · 18 May 2017

European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) — Lazdijai — Almantas Kulbis — Photo: Almantas Kulbis · iNaturalist
Lazdijai · 27 October 2016

Distribution

Where European Pond Turtle lives in Georgia

Highlighted regions show where this species has been recorded.

Identification

How to identify European Pond Turtle

A native water turtle with a low, often dark shell and yellow speckling. A high dome means tortoise; a red stripe behind the eye means the introduced slider.

The upper shell (carapace) is low and oval, not a high dome. Colour is usually dark olive, brown, or black, often with yellow dots or streaks. The lower shell (plastron) is paler. Emys has a movable hinge on the plastron; the Caspian turtle (Mauremys) has a practically rigid plastron.
Head, neck, and legs are dark with yellow dots or short streaks. There is no broad red stripe behind the eye. The feet are webbed. For Kura-basin Caucasian forms Fritz (1998) gives a maximum shell length of about 18 cm, usually under 16 cm; a separate measured series for western Georgian nominate animals is not on this page. Males are often smaller than females, with a longer tail and a more concave plastron.
The Mediterranean tortoise (Testudo graeca) is terrestrial: high-domed shell and columnar legs without webbing. The pond slider (Trachemys scripta, usually T. s. elegans) is introduced; it has a broad red stripe behind the eye and often bolder shell striping. The Caspian turtle (Mauremys caspica) is recorded from southeastern Georgia; it often has pale lengthwise neck stripes and a more striped than speckled shell.
It is not venomous. Watch and do not pick it up. In city ponds, rule out the slider first, especially near Tbilisi and Batumi.
The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as a biologically confirmed native species — not a land tortoise and not the introduced slider. In western Georgia it lists E. o. orbicularis; in the east, E. o. persica. In the west, named points include Poti and Colchic coastal wetlands. In the east the checklist assigns a subspecies, but this page does not shade eastern regions on the map.

Similar species

Often confused with

Mauremys caspica

Caspian Turtle

Southeastern Georgia

Trachemys scripta

Pond Slider

Vicinity of Tbilisi and Batumi — introduced

Testudo graeca

Mediterranean Tortoise

Eastern Georgia (T. g. ibera); west — rare (T. g. nikolskii)

Biology

Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation

Habitat and range

It lives in still or slow fresh water — ponds, lakes, marshes, oxbows, and slow rivers, often with vegetated banks. Females nest on land, usually on sandy, sunny slopes away from the water. In western Georgia a named point is Poti: that is the 2026 checklist figure-specimen locality, not a map of all Samegrelo. In the same Colchic coastal complex, Georgia’s Black Sea wetlands review names the beach and dunes by Churia Fen as a nesting area; the Paliastomi basin sits in the same wetland belt. For eastern Georgia the checklist assigns a subspecies but this page has no municipality list. The range map shades only Samegrelo — Zemo Svaneti, following the specimen region; the east is unshaded because no named eastern locality is given here. An elevation range in metres for Georgia is not published on this page. Across Europe the species is mainly a lowland animal and rarely reaches high mountains.

Diet

Omnivorous. It usually feeds in water: invertebrates, small fish, amphibians, and plant material. At species level, juveniles eat more animal prey; adults take more plants. A Georgian stomach or faeces study is not cited here.

Behavior

By day it often basks on banks, logs, or aquatic plants; it dives when disturbed. Webbed feet make it a swimmer, not a land tortoise, though females come ashore to nest and animals sometimes walk between waterbodies. At species level it often overwinters in mud or on the bottom; months are not measured for Georgia on this page. Females lay eggs in a terrestrial nest. The European IUCN account gives about one to three clutches a year, typically about six to nine eggs; those figures are range-wide. Sex can depend on incubation temperature. Do not take wild turtles.

Conservation

Native and biologically confirmed. The global IUCN assessment is from 1996 (Near Threatened) and is annotated as needing an update. The 2024 European regional assessment is also NT, citing habitat loss and other pressures. The 1996 global account lists Georgia as a native country. The species is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List (Decree no. 190); Testudo graeca is. CITES does not list the Georgian population; Appendix III covers only Ukraine. The EU Habitats Directive does not apply in Georgia. Realistic western-coast pressures include wetland drainage, shoreline change, and road kill during nesting movements; a national trend is not measured here. Subspecies: the checklist uses E. o. orbicularis in the west and E. o. persica in the east. E. o. colchica and E. o. iberica, described for the southern Caucasus, are treated there as synonyms of orbicularis and persica. TTWG 2021 and ITIS treat colchica as a junior synonym of the nominate subspecies; persica is accepted. Tuniyev’s Caucasian list still treats colchica as a Colchis endemic subspecies — that disagreement stands, and field photos should not be used to assign subspecies.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the most important questions about European Pond Turtle.