The Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) is an enigmatic emydid turtle endemic to the Rio Grange drainage of northern Mexico and adjacent Texas and New Mexico. The species was only described in 1984 as a subspecies of the river cooter (P. concinna). The turtle lives in slow-moving and still bodies of water, including the slow-moving portions of rivers, oxbows, lakes, and ponds, usually in well-vegetated areas with a soft bottom. It is a general omnivore, feeding on aquatic plants, fish, and aquatic invertebrates. The cooter is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN and there is still much to learn about its biology, although it is popular in the pet trade. In 2025, Bandai produced a figure of a juvenile Rio Grande cooter for their Diversity of Life on Earth line.
The figure comes with its head, legs, and tail retracted (perhaps so it fits in a gashapon capsule more easily). The carapace length is approx. 5.7 cm which should fit within the 1:1 scale range for a turtle of this age.
Multiple points of articulation allow the legs, tail and head to become extended.
And even the mouth opens!
The paint job is exquisite and captures very well the color of a juvenile Rio Grande cooter. The carapace has a glossy finish.
The turtle comes with a base resembling submerged rocks. What is most interesting, is that the turtle attaches to the base via magnets (not sure if the magnets are in the base, the turtle, or both)! This is the first time I’ve seen Bandai use magnets to hold a figure to its base (but it’s possible this technique has been used previously in figures I didn’t pursue). The magnet(s) is/are not strong; I am not sure how long it will hold up over time.
Bandai’s Rio Grange cooter is a cute, charming, and very well-done representative of the species. Normally this isn’t the kind of Bandai figure I would pursue, but it’s an interesting species that I cannot foresee being made anytime soon by other companies. Being a recent release, the figure is available via eBay or Japanese online stores. Being in the ‘Advanced’ subline of the DoLoE, it’s somewhat expensive for its size, and who knows what looming tariffs with both China and Japan may do to the cost of the figure in the United States (where I live). Regardless, this little turtle comes highly recommended to collectors of interesting taxa.
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