Pseudemys turtles - HR

Pseudemys turtles
Pseudemys is a genus of large, herbivorous, freshwater turtles of the eastern United States and adjacent northeast Mexico. They are often referred to as cooters, which stems from kuta, the word for turtle in the Bambara and Malinké languages. All are aquatic ectotherms, spending the majority of their time in lakes, rivers, and ponds where they can easily be seen basking on rocks and logs in sunny weather.

An ectotherm is an organism in which internal sources of heat are of small importance in controlling body temperature. Such organisms rely on environmental heat sources, which permit them to operate at very economical metabolic rates. Colloquially, some refer to these organisms as "cold blooded". Some of these animals live in environments where temperatures are constant, as is typical of regions of the abyssal ocean. In contrast, in places where temperature varies so widely as to limit the physiological activities of other kinds of ectotherms, many species habitually seek out external sources of heat or shelter from heat; for example, many reptiles regulate their body temperature by basking in the sun, or seeking shade when necessary in addition to a whole host of other behavioral thermoregulation mechanisms.