cooter
noun
coo·ter ˈkü-tər 
also ˈku̇-tə
chiefly Southern US
: any of several freshwater turtles (genus Pseudemys synonym Chrysemys, especially P. concinna) especially of the southern and eastern U.S.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The shop also was selling Mississippi map turtles and river cooter turtles without a non-game dealers license. 
John Goodspeed, San Antonio Express-News, 29 Dec. 2021 There are native red belly and peninsula cooter turtles, exotic red-eared sliders and enormous softshell turtles. Kevin Spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, 10 May 2018 Most of the dead animals are Florida softshell turtles; however, a few river cooters, olive or brown turtles with yellow stripes on their heads and necks, have also been found dead. Annie Martin, OrlandoSentinel.com, 30 May 2018 The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has released 53 northern red-bellied cooters, a turtle species, into the wild at the Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area in Hanson. Zipporah Osei And Julia Preszler, BostonGlobe.com, 15 June 2018 There are native red belly and peninsula cooter turtles, exotic red-eared sliders and enormous softshell turtles. Kevin Spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, 10 May 2018 Cooter often puts the Lions in straightforward, static formations. Andy Benoit, SI.com, 9 Aug. 2017 See More
John Goodspeed, San Antonio Express-News, 29 Dec. 2021 There are native red belly and peninsula cooter turtles, exotic red-eared sliders and enormous softshell turtles. Kevin Spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, 10 May 2018 Most of the dead animals are Florida softshell turtles; however, a few river cooters, olive or brown turtles with yellow stripes on their heads and necks, have also been found dead. Annie Martin, OrlandoSentinel.com, 30 May 2018 The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has released 53 northern red-bellied cooters, a turtle species, into the wild at the Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area in Hanson. Zipporah Osei And Julia Preszler, BostonGlobe.com, 15 June 2018 There are native red belly and peninsula cooter turtles, exotic red-eared sliders and enormous softshell turtles. Kevin Spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, 10 May 2018 Cooter often puts the Lions in straightforward, static formations. Andy Benoit, SI.com, 9 Aug. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
of African origin; akin to Bambara & Malinke kuta turtle
First Known Use
1832, in the meaning defined above