2025, Rawski, Mateusz, Łyczykowska, Klaudia, Skrzypczak, Paula, Kierończyk, Bartosz, Górecki, Marcin, Florczyk, Krzysztof, Mazurkiewicz, Jan

The threat posed by invasive alien turtle species to aquatic ecosystems in Poland increases annually. The spectrum of species recorded in the wild evolves and follows trends observed in the pet market. After the ban on the trade of slider turtles (Trachemys scripta), Pseudemys spp. dominated the market of pet turtles in Poland. Currently, released specimens are more and more frequently recorded in the wild, and the scale of their invasion may be similar or even higher than what is currently recorded for T. scripta. In 2025, the first report of a released Pseudemys floridana was recorded in Poznań, which is probably the first record of this species in Poland. The analysis of online offers of freshwater turtles present on the market shows that Pseudemys spp. represents almost 50% of all offers. Thus, a risk assessment for potential invasion should be evaluated, and probably the list of invasive species of concern for Poland should be reviewed, including Pseudemys spp.. However, no action against keeping it in private hands should be taken. The main preventive action should be a ban on the import of Pseudemys spp. to Poland.