---
title: "Southwestern Pond Turtle"
description: "Actinemys pallida — Reptiles. Actinemys pallida, the southwestern pond turtle, is an aquatic turtle of the genus Actinemys in the family Emydidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/southwestern-pond-turtle
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Southwestern Pond Turtle

> Actinemys pallida — Reptiles. Actinemys pallida, the southwestern pond turtle, is an aquatic turtle of the genus Actinemys in the family Emydidae.

- Scientific name: *Actinemys pallida*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 1499
- iNaturalist taxon: [1522792](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1522792)

## Names

- en: Southwestern Pond Turtle
- de: Südwestliche Pazifik-Wasserschildkröte
- es: Tortuga de Poza

## Countries with the most observations

US (1224), MX (121)

## Summary

Actinemys pallida, the southwestern pond turtle, is an aquatic turtle of the genus Actinemys in the family Emydidae. It can be found in bodies of water in southern California and Baja California.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_pond_turtle

## Photo

![Southwestern Pond Turtle](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/southwestern-pond-turtle/medium.jpg)

Photo: Adam Jackson · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/358443718

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/southwestern-pond-turtle?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).