The painted turtle ("Chrysemys picta") is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus "Chrysemys", which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Four regionally based subspecies (the eastern, midland, southern, and western) evolved during the last ice age. The adult painted turtle female is long; the male is smaller. 5-6" The turtle's top shell is dark and smooth, without a ridge.
Introduction
Painted turtle
Painted turtle | Introduction
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. Johann Gottlob Schneide Originally described by Johann Gottlob Schneider as "Testudo picta", it was called "Chrysemys picta" first by John Edward Gray. Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
how long does it take for painted turtles to hatch
user
Hatched turtles grow until sexual maturity: 2–9 years for males, 6–16 for females.
assistant
where are they most commonly found?
user
North America
assistant
and what is their preferred domain of habitation?
user
It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific
assistant
who labelled this species for the first time?
user
The painted turtle ("Chrysemys picta") is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus "Chrysemys", which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Four regionally based subspecies (the eastern, midland, southern, and western) evolved during the last ice age. The adult painted turtle female is long; the male is smaller. 5-6" The turtle's top shell is dark and smooth, without a ridge.
Painted turtle | Introduction
Based on comparative measurements of turtles from throughout the range, they subordinated species to subspecies and eliminated "treleasei". Since at least 1958, the subspecies were thought to have evolved in response to geographic isolation during the last ice age, 100,000 to 11,000 years ago. At that time painted turtles were divided into three different populations: eastern painted turtles along the southeastern Atlantic coast; southern painted turtles around the southern Mississippi River; and western painted turtles in the southwestern United States. The populations were not completely isolated for sufficiently long, hence wholly different species never evolved. When the glaciers retreated, about 11,000 years ago, all three subspecies moved north.
Painted turtle | Classification
Although the subspecies of painted turtle intergrade (blend together) at range boundaries they are distinct within the hearts of their ranges.
Painted turtle | Subspecies
It is found in Mexico (from Sonora southwards) and Central America, as far south as Costa Rica.
Painted wood turtle | Distribution
To thrive, painted turtles need fresh waters with soft bottoms, basking sites, and aquatic vegetation. They find their homes in shallow waters with slow-moving currents, such as creeks, marshes, ponds, and the shores of lakes. The subspecies have evolved different habitat preferences.
Painted turtle | Habitat
The most widespread North American turtle, the painted turtle is the only turtle whose native range extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is native to eight of Canada's ten provinces, forty-five of the fifty United States, and one of Mexico's thirty-one states. On the East Coast, it lives from the Canadian Maritimes to the U.S. state of Georgia. On the West Coast, it lives in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon and offshore on southeast Vancouver Island. The northernmost American turtle, its range includes much of southern Canada. To the south, its range reaches the U.S. Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Alabama.
Painted turtle | Range
The painted turtle ("Chrysemys picta") is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus "Chrysemys", which is part of the pond turtle family, Emydidae. In Wyoming, the sub-species "C. p. bellii" is found in permanent ponds, reservoirs, marshes, and slow moving streams, below .
Amphibians and reptiles of Wyoming | Western painted turtle
The painted turtle ("C. picta") is the only species in the genus "Chrysemys". The parent family for "Chrysemys" is Emydidae: the pond turtles. Emydidae is split into two sub families; "Chrysemys" is part of the Deirochelyinae (Western Hemisphere) branch. The four subspecies of the painted turtle are the eastern ("C. p. picta"), midland ("C. p. marginata"), southern ("C. p. dorsalis"), and western ("C. p. bellii"). The painted turtle's generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek words for "gold" ("chryso") and "freshwater tortoise" ("emys"); the species name originates from the Latin for "colored" ("pictus"). The subspecies name, "marginata", derives from the Latin for "border" and refers to the red markings on the outer (marginal) part of the upper shell; "dorsalis" is from the Latin for "back", referring to the prominent dorsal stripe; and "bellii" honors English zoologist Thomas Bell, a collaborator of Charles Darwin.
Painted turtle | Taxonomy and evolution
In the southwestern United States there are only dispersed populations. It is found in one river in extreme northern Mexico. It is absent in a part of southwestern Virginia and the adjacent states as well as in north-central Alabama. The borders between the four subspecies are not sharp, because the subspecies interbreed. Many studies have been performed in the border regions to assess the intermediate turtles, usually by comparing the anatomical features of hybrids that result from intergradation of the classical subspecies. Despite the imprecision, the subspecies are assigned nominal ranges.
Painted turtle | Range
Originally described in 1783 by Johann Gottlob Schneider as "Testudo picta", the painted turtle was called "Chrysemys picta" first by John Edward Gray in 1855. The four subspecies were then recognized: the eastern by Schneider in 1783, the western by Gray in 1831, and the midland and southern by Louis Agassiz in 1857. Until the 1930s many of the subspecies of the painted turtle were labeled by biologists as full species within "Chrysemys", but this varied by the researcher. The painted turtles in the border region between the western and midland subspecies were sometimes considered a full species, "treleasei". In 1931, Bishop and Schmidt defined the current "four in one" taxonomy of species and subspecies.
Painted turtle | Classification
The western and southern subspecies met in Missouri and hybridized to produce the midland painted turtle, which then moved east and north through the Ohio and Tennessee river basins.
Painted turtle | Classification
The eastern painted turtle ranges from southeastern Canada to Georgia with a western boundary at approximately the Appalachians. At its northern extremes, the turtle tends to be restricted to the warmer areas closer to the Atlantic Ocean. It is uncommon in far north New Hampshire and in Maine is common only in a strip about 50 miles from the coast. In Canada, it lives in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia but not in Quebec or Prince Edward Island. To the south it is not found in the coastal lowlands of southern North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia, or in southern Georgia in general or at all in Florida.
Painted turtle | Eastern painted turtle
The painted turtle ("Chrysemys picta") is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus "Chrysemys", which is part of the pond turtle family, Emydidae.
List of amphibians and reptiles of Oregon | Painted turtle
Painted wood turtles live in rainforests, shallow rivers and bushes. Although they are mostly terrestrial, they can occasionally be found in shallow water.
Painted wood turtle | Habitat
The species is currently classified as least concern by the IUCN but populations have been subject to decline locally. The decline in painted turtle populations is not a simple matter of dramatic range reduction, like that of the . Instead the turtle is classified as G5 (demonstrably widespread) in its Natural Heritage Global Rank, and the IUCN rates it as a species of least concern. The painted turtle's high reproduction rate and its ability to survive in polluted wetlands and artificially made ponds have allowed it to maintain its range, but the post-Columbus settlement of North America has reduced its numbers.
Painted turtle | Conservation
The painted turtle's high reproduction rates and its ability to survive in habitats affected by humans, such as polluted wetlands and artificially made ponds, have allowed it to maintain its range. In New England, the Turtle Conservation Project notes: "Ironically, prime habitat has been created by fertilizer runoff, creating vegetation-clogged lakes; just what Painted Turtles like." Only at the extremities of the Pacific Northwest is the turtle's actual range eroding. Even there, in Washington, the painted turtle is common: it is designated S5 (demonstrably widespread). However, further south, in Oregon (the north third of the state is painted turtle range), the painted turtle is designated S2 (imperiled).
Conservation of painted turtles | Introduction
The complete sequencing of the genetic code for the painted turtle was at a "draft assembled" state in 2010. The turtle was one of two reptiles chosen to be first sequenced.
Painted turtle | DNA
Only within the Pacific Northwest is the turtle's range eroding. Even there, in Washington, the painted turtle is designated S5 (demonstrably widespread). However, in Oregon, the painted turtle is designated S2 (imperiled), and in British Columbia, the turtle's populations in the Coast and Interior regions are labeled "endangered" and "of special concern", respectively.
Painted turtle | Conservation
Pet releases are starting to establish the painted turtle outside its native range. It has been introduced into waterways near Phoenix, Arizona, and to Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Spain.
Painted turtle | Human-introduced range
An alternate East Coast common name for the painted turtle is "skilpot", from the Dutch for turtle, "schildpad".
Painted turtle | Taxonomy and evolution
The painted turtle ("Chrysemys picta", Salish: sp̓lqʷá) is a turtle of the family Emydidae that is endemic to southern Canada and the United States. "Chrysemys" is a monotypic genus however, four distinct subspecies of painted turtle occur. It is small, measuring and weighing with females being larger than males. It has a smooth, flat, oval, and keelless carapace (shell) and a base skin color of black to olive. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this turtle is the red, orange, or yellow "painted" pattern on its legs, tail, neck, and face.
List of amphibians and reptiles of Montana | Painted turtle
border, mostly in the southeast. In British Columbia, populations exist in the interior in the vicinity of the Kootenai, Columbia, Okanagan, and Thompson river valleys. At the coast, turtles occur near the mouth of the Fraser and a bit further north, as well as the bottom of Vancouver Island, and some other nearby islands. Within British Columbia, the turtle's range is not continuous and can better be understood as northward extensions of the range from the United States. High mountains present barriers to east–west movement of the turtles within the province or from Alberta. Some literature has shown isolated populations much further north in British Columbia and Alberta, but these were probably pet-releases.
Painted turtle | Western painted turtle
The decline in painted turtle populations is not a simple story of dramatic range reduction, such as the American bison. Instead, the turtle remains numerous and occupies its original range—it is classified as G5 (demonstrably widespread) in its Natural Heritage Global Rank—however, the settlement of North America has undoubtedly reduced its population density. Since at least 1952, scientists have noted human impact on the painted turtle. Ernst and Lovich, in their 2009 turtle almanac, acknowledge that estimates of species-specific population changes are lacking, but say that it is useful to discuss general factors affecting all turtles. However, these pressures are generally more pressing on turtles of the sea, estuary or land, or already rare turtles.
Conservation of painted turtles | Introduction
Although its evolutionary history—what the forerunner to the species was and how the close relatives branched off—is not well understood, the painted turtle is common in the fossil record. The oldest samples, found in Nebraska, date to about 15 million years ago. Fossils from 15 million to about 5 million years ago are restricted to the Nebraska-Kansas area, but more recent fossils are gradually more widely distributed. Fossils newer than 300,000 years old are found in almost all the United States and southern Canada.
Painted turtle | Fossils
Trapping is not allowed in Oregon, where western painted turtle populations are in decline, and in Missouri, where there are populations of both southern and western subspecies. In Canada, Ontario protects both subspecies present, the midland and western, and British Columbia protects its dwindling western painted turtles.
Painted turtle | Capture
The female weighs around on average, against the males' average adult weight of roughly . The female's greater body volume supports her egg-production. The male has longer foreclaws and a longer, thicker tail, with the anus (cloaca) located further out on the tail.
Painted turtle | Description
As the male is smaller than the female, he is not dominant. Although not directly observed, evidence indicates that the male will inflict injury on the female in attempts of coercion. The female stores sperm, to be used for up to three clutches, in her oviducts; the sperm may remain viable for up to three years. A single clutch may have multiple fathers.
Painted turtle | Mating
It lives in areas with tropical climates within humid forests at shallow rainwater puddles.
Mexican box turtle | Habitat
Kinosternon pojoaque is an extinct turtle in the genus "Kinosternon". It existed in what is now New Mexico, United States, during the Middle Miocene period. It was described by Jason R. Bourque in 2012. The type specimen was originally discovered by Galusha and Blick in the Pojoaque Member of the Tesuque Formation.
Kinosternon pojoaque | Introduction
The western painted turtle's northern range includes southern parts of western Canada from Ontario through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. In Ontario, the western subspecies is found north of Minnesota and directly north of Lake Superior, but there is a gap to the east of Lake Superior (in the area of harshest winter climate) where no painted turtles of any subspecies occur. Thus Ontario's western subspecies does not intergrade with the midland painted turtle of southeastern Ontario. In Manitoba, the turtle is numerous and ranges north to Lake Manitoba and the lower part of Lake Winnipeg. The turtle is also common in south Saskatchewan, but in Alberta, there may only be 100 individuals, all found very near the U.S.
Painted turtle | Western painted turtle
The midland painted turtle lives from southern Ontario and Quebec, through the eastern U.S. Midwest states, to Kentucky, Tennessee and northwestern Alabama, where it intergrades with the southern painted turtle. It also is found eastward through West Virginia, western Maryland and Pennsylvania. The midland painted turtle appears to be moving east, especially in Pennsylvania. To the northeast it is found in western New York and much of Vermont, and it intergrades extensively with the eastern subspecies.
Painted turtle | Midland painted turtle
Much has been written about the different factors that harm the painted turtle. Essentially all factors are unquantified and at most only some inferences of which factors are more relatively severe are described.
Conservation of painted turtles | Introduction
The southern painted turtle ranges from extreme southern Illinois and Missouri, roughly along the Mississippi River Valley, to the south. In Arkansas, it branches out to the west towards Texas, where it is found in the far northeast part of that state (Caddo Lake region) as well as extreme southeastern Oklahoma (McCurtain County). It is found in much of Louisiana, where it reaches the Gulf of Mexico (in fresh water). Eastward it is found in western Tennessee, northern Mississippi and much of Alabama, including the Gulf Coast city of Mobile. An isolated population in central Texas has been reported but is now believed to be non-native.
Painted turtle | Southern painted turtle
The painted turtle ("Chrysemys picta") is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus "Chrysemys", which is part of the pond turtle family, Emydidae. In Idaho, painted turtles can be found in the northern portion of the state, and have been reported in western Idaho in waters associated with the Payette and Boise Rivers, and in eastern Idaho near St. Anthony.
List of amphibians and reptiles of Idaho | Western painted turtle
This is because of the species preferring cold water to warm.
Tetraspora | Habitat
Within much of its range, the painted turtle is the most abundant turtle species. Population densities range from 10 to 840 turtles per hectare (2.5 acres) of water surface. Warmer climates produce higher relative densities among populations, and habitat desirability also influences density. Rivers and large lakes have lower densities because only the shore is desirable habitat; the central, deep waters skew the surface-based estimates. Also, lake and river turtles have to make longer linear trips to access equivalent amounts of foraging space. Adults outnumber juveniles in most populations, but gauging the ratios is difficult because juveniles are harder to catch; with current sampling methods, estimates of age distribution vary widely.
Painted turtle | Population features
The eastern subspecies's range extends slightly into east central Alabama, where it intergrades with the southern subspecies. In the northeast, there is extensive mixing with the midland subspecies, and some writers have called these turtles a "hybrid swarm". In the southeast, the border between the eastern and midland is more sharp as mountain chains separate the subspecies to different drainage basins.
Painted turtle | Eastern painted turtle
Below is a cladogram of living testudines found by Thomson and Shaffer in 2010:
Turtle classification | Thomson and Shaffer, 2010
These turtles have been found in Cretaceous to Paleogene of Canada, United States, Mongolia, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Adocus | Distribution
Stejneger L (1925). "New species and subspecies of American turtles". "J. Washington Acad. Sci." 15 (20): 462-463. ("Terrapene nelsoni", new species, p. 463).
Spotted box turtle | Further reading
"T. n. klauberi" is endemic to the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico.
Northern spotted box turtle | Geographic range
The painted terrapin, painted batagur, or saw-jawed turtle ("Batagur borneoensis") is a species of turtles in the family Geoemydidae. It was formerly in its own genus, "Callagur", but has been reclassified to the genus, "Batagur".
Painted terrapin | Introduction
In the United States, the western subspecies forms a wide intergrade area with the midland subspecies covering much of Illinois as well as a strip of Wisconsin along Lake Michigan and part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (UP). Further west, the rest of Illinois, Wisconsin and the UP are part of the range proper, as are all of Minnesota and Iowa, as well as all of Missouri except a narrow strip in the south. All of North Dakota is within range, all of South Dakota except a very small area in the west, and all of Nebraska. Almost all of Kansas is in range; the border of that state with Oklahoma is roughly the species range border, but the turtle is found in three counties of north central Oklahoma.
Painted turtle | Western painted turtle
The painted wood turtle or spot-legged wood turtle ("Rhinoclemmys punctularia") is a species of turtle belonging to the genus "Rhinoclemmys" of the family Geoemydidae.
Spot-legged wood turtle | Introduction
The shell length of many species in this group is less than in length.
Turtle | Anatomy and morphology
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, urban areas, water storage areas, ponds, aquaculture ponds, irrigated land, and seasonally flooded agricultural land. Humans may have facilitated the dispersal of "K. picta" in the Philippines as forests were converted into agricultural-use land.
Painted narrowmouth toad | Habitat
Males move the most and are most likely to change wetlands because they seek mates. The painted turtles, through visual recognition, have homing capabilities. Many individuals can return to their collection points after being released elsewhere, trips that may require them to traverse land. One experiment placed 98 turtles varying several-kilometer distances from their home wetland; 41 returned. When living in a single large body of water, the painted turtles can home from up to away. Females may use homing to help locate suitable nesting sites.
Painted turtle | Movement
The ornate or painted wood turtle ("Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima") is one of nine turtle species of the genus "Rhinoclemmys" of the family Geoemydidae. There are four recognized subspecies.
Painted wood turtle | Introduction
Species of the genus "Adocus" had flattened and smoothly contoured shells with horny sculptured plates. The shells could reach a length of about 80 cm. These large freshwater turtles had an omnivorous diet. They lived from the Late Cretaceous to the Paleocene in North America, but in Asia, they were also present during the Oligocene.
Adocus | Description
These turtles have been found in Cretaceous to Paleogene of United States.
Adocus beatus | Distribution
Reliant on warmth from its surroundings, the painted turtle is active only during the day when it basks for hours on logs or rocks. During winter, the turtle hibernates, usually in the mud at the bottom of water bodies. The turtles mate in spring and autumn. Females dig nests on land and lay eggs between late spring and mid-summer. Hatched turtles grow until sexual maturity: 2–9 years for males, 6–16 for females.
Painted turtle | Introduction
Medem (1966) reported the habitat was originally ponds and small brooks within forests, but with the clearing of the woodlands the entire area around the type locality has been transformed into pastures. There, turtles seem to prefer shallow, quiet water bodies, where they fill a bottom-dwelling niche. Aestivation occurs during dry periods.
Dahl's toad-headed turtle | Habitat
The painted wood turtle can be found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Spot-legged wood turtle | Distribution
Below is a cladogram found by Joyce in 2007 in his publication on turtle phylogeny:
Turtle classification | Joyce, 2007
This species prefers low altitude waters such as ponds, canals, and slow-moving rivers.
Chinese stripe-necked turtle | Habitat
The turtle's karyotype (nuclear DNA, rather than mitochondrial DNA) consists of 50 chromosomes, the same number as the rest of its subfamily-mates and the most common number for Emydidae turtles in general. Less well-related turtles have from 26 to 66 chromosomes. Little systematic study of variations of the painted turtle's karotype among populations has been done. (However, in 1967, research on "protein" structure of offshore island populations in New England, showed differences from mainland turtles.) Comparison of subspecies chromosomal DNA has been discussed, to help address the debate over Starkey's proposed taxonomy, but as of 2009 had not been reported.
Painted turtle | DNA
These turtles inhabit streams, lakes and swamps with abundant aquatic vegetation and soft bottoms.
Phrynops hilarii | Habitat
Its skin is olive to black with red, orange, or yellow stripes on its extremities. The subspecies can be distinguished by their shells: the eastern has straight-aligned top shell segments; the midland has a large gray mark on the bottom shell; the southern has a red line on the top shell; the western has a red pattern on the bottom shell. The turtle eats aquatic vegetation, algae, and small water creatures including insects, crustaceans, and fish. Although they are frequently consumed as eggs or hatchlings by rodents, canines, and snakes, the adult turtles' hard shells protect them from most predators.
Painted turtle | Introduction
A cold-blooded reptile, the painted turtle regulates its temperature through its environment, notably by basking. All ages bask for warmth, often alongside other species of turtle. Sometimes more than 50 individuals are seen on one log together. Turtles bask on a variety of objects, often logs, but have even been seen basking on top of common loons that were covering eggs. The turtle starts its day at sunrise, emerging from the water to bask for several hours. Warmed for activity, it returns to the water to forage. After becoming chilled, the turtle re-emerges for one to two more cycles of basking and feeding.
Painted turtle | Daily routine and basking
The introduction of non-native species is another threat to the painted turtle. Red-eared sliders are the most common pet turtle and are native to the US Southeast only. They have been widely released (or escaped) and have established breeding populations in many parts of the painted turtle range, including Canada. They are a similar species in size and habits to the painted turtle, so they may be added competition, but the impact is uncertain. In the eastern United States, the painted turtle already shares territory with yellow-bellied and Cumberland sliders (which mix readily with red-eared sliders), so there, the pet-released invasions are less likely to be a significant new threat.
Conservation of painted turtles | Introduced species
Its distribution is limited to the Pascagoula River of Mississippi and most of its tributaries (a range it shares with the Pascagoula map turtle).
Yellow-blotched map turtle | Geographic range
The abundant small lakes support painted turtles ("Chrysemys picta"), wood frogs ("Lithobates sylvaticus"), the Northern Leopard Frog ("Lithobates pipiens"), and the barred tiger salamander ("Ambystoma mavortium").
Turtle Mountain (plateau) | Wildlife
The existence of similar pigment on an ancient specimen suggests sea turtles evolved this survival trait millions of years ago.
Tasbacka | Introduction
The head of the turtle is distinctive. The face has only yellow stripes, with a large yellow spot and streak behind each eye, and on the chin two wide yellow stripes that meet at the tip of the jaw. The turtle's upper jaw is shaped into an inverted "V" (philtrum), with a downward-facing, tooth-like projection on each side. The hatchling has a proportionally larger head, eyes, and tail, and a more circular shell than the adult. The adult female is generally longer than the male, versus . For a given length, the female has a higher (more rounded, less flat) top shell.
Painted turtle | Description
"Kinosternon leucostomum" is found in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
White-lipped mud turtle | Geographic range
As of early Autumn 2006, the rock has been repainted and restored to its original tortoiseshell motif.
Rio Turtle | Introduction
There, federal, state and Portland city governments are working to better understand and arrest the decline of the painted turtle. North of Washington, in British Columbia, the turtle is also in peril. There coastal populations are designated as endangered and Interior populations are designated as "of special concern". The iconic painted turtle is popular in British Columbia and the province is further motivated to stop the loss of the painted turtle because it has already lost all populations of its other native turtle species, the western pond turtle. However, despite conservation efforts, only a few thousand turtles remain in the entire province.
Conservation of painted turtles | Introduction
Originally described by American herpetologist Carl Henry Ernst in 1988 from a specimen obtained from the Chinese pet trade, "C. mccordi" lacked geographic range data for 19 years until Chinese herpetologist Ting Zhou et al. (2007) were able to report it from the wild.
McCord's box turtle | Taxonomy
"Myuchelys latisternum" is most often located in headwaters or tributaries of larger rivers in creeks, waterholes, dams, and lakes. However they are a highly adaptable species and have been seen in a variety of landscapes such as savannah woodlands, tropical rainforest, farmland, and semi-urban environments. Can be observed on logs and rocks adjacent to their habitat for basking, it is unknown if this is for thermoregulatory purposes or not.
Saw-shelled turtle | Habitat and ecology
Plus, they are notorious for returning to their site of origin and have very small home ranges where they exhibit high fidelity and used it as overwintering sites.
Desert box turtle | Conservation
Let A biologist wants to estimate the size of a population of turtles in a lake. She captures 10 turtles on her first visit to the lake, and marks their backs with paint. A week later she returns to the lake and captures 15 turtles. Five of these 15 turtles have paint on their backs, indicating that they are recaptured animals. This example is "(n, K, k) = (10, 15, 5)". The problem is to estimate "N". N=n*K/k
Mark and recapture | Notation
The painted turtles mate in spring and fall in waters of . Males start producing sperm in early spring, when they can bask to an internal temperature of . Females begin their reproductive cycles in mid-summer, and ovulate the following spring. Courtship begins when a male follows a female until he meets her face-to-face. He then strokes her face and neck with his elongated front claws, a gesture returned by a receptive female. The pair repeat the process several times, with the male retreating from and then returning to the female until she swims to the bottom, where they copulate.
Painted turtle | Mating
The spotted box turtle ("Terrapene nelsoni") is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico.
Spotted box turtle | Introduction
An obvious threat to painted turtles comes from habitat loss by drying of wetlands. Even when water remains, the turtles may be impacted by the clearing of logs or rocks that provide basking sites. Also, clearing of shorelines' vegetation may make allow more predator access, or increased human foot traffic, which make onshore basking untenable. Away from the water, urbanization or vegetation-planting, even for stream restoration, can remove the open sunny soils needed for nesting.
Conservation of painted turtles | Habitat loss
The preferred habitat of "A. tilburyi" is desert.
Acanthodactylus tilburyi | Habitat
Painted dragons are found throughout the drier parts of southeastern Western Australia, across South Australia to northwestern Victoria and central-western New South Wales. They prefer semi-arid to arid regions, favouring shrublands and hummock grasslands on sandy and saline soils.
Ctenophorus pictus | Distribution and habitat
The male incubates the eggs and takes the parental care.
Greater painted-snipe | Behaviour
"C. novaeguineae" inhabits small and large freshwater bodies of water, jungle rivers with ample vegetation.
New Guinea snake-necked turtle | Habitat
Ctenophorus pictus, commonly known as the painted dragon, is a species of lizard from the family Agamidae. It is endemic to the drier areas of southern and central Australia.
Ctenophorus pictus | Introduction
The painted turtle has a very similar appearance to the red-eared slider (the most common pet turtle) and the two are often confused. The painted turtle can be distinguished because it is flatter than the slider. Also, the slider has a prominent red marking on the side of its head (the "ear") and a spotted bottom shell, both features missing in the painted turtle.
Painted turtle | Similar species
They are present in most Pelomedusid turtles.
Turtle shell | Shell nomenclature
Several states describe a practice of wanton shooting of turtles "for fun" (two studies of this have been done) and prohibit it, or prohibit even deliberate taking with firearms. Use of chemicals or explosives is also generally disallowed. Because other, less numerous, turtle species may be more heavily protected, methods of collection are restricted to allow the release of protected species.
Capture of painted turtles | Methods
It lives in barren, rocky, desert terrain, sparsely covered with brush and cacti.
Crotalus atrox tortugensis | Habitat
Anosteira is an extinct genus of turtle from the Eocene to the Oligocene of Asia and North America.
Anosteira | Introduction
The painted turtle hunts along water bottoms. It quickly juts its head into and out of vegetation to stir potential victims out into the open water, where they are pursued. The turtle holds large prey in its mouth and tears the prey apart with its forefeet. It also consumes plants and skims the surface of the water with its mouth open to catch small particles of food. Although all subspecies of painted turtle eat both plants and animals, their specific diets vary.
Painted turtle | Diet
The preferred habitats of "A. taghitensis" are shrubland and desert.
Acanthodactylus taghitensis | Habitat
Mexichelys is an extinct monotypic genus of sea turtle which lived in Mexico during the Cretaceous. The only species is "Mexichelys coahuilaensis". "Mexichelys" was erected in 2010 as a replacement name for "Euclastes coahuilaensis", a species named in 2009. Cladogram based on Lynch and Parham (2003) and Parham and Pyenson (2010):
Mexichelys | Introduction
Mesoclemmys perplexa is a species of turtle from Northeast Brazil.
Mesoclemmys perplexa | Introduction
Other anatomical studies and phylogenetic analysis suggest that "Eunotosaurus" is a parareptile and not a basal turtle.
Eunotosaurus | Introduction
The estimated length of carapace is 18 cm. The histology of its plates, a shell that is dorsoventrally low, and the paleoenvironment proposed for the Tacuarembó Formation (permanent and temporary streams and lakes), support the ecology of this genus as semiaquatic and mainly aquatic turtles.
Tacuarembemys | Introduction
Placochelys ('flat-plate turtle") is an extinct genus of placodont reptiles erected by Otto Jaekel in 1902.
Placochelys | Introduction
The species is found in the southern third of South America, from southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to Chile and Argentina. It inhabits lowland freshwater wetlands, including wet grasslands.
South American painted-snipe | Distribution and habitat
The preferred natural habitats of "P. smithii" are freshwater swamps and rivers.These creatures also prefer to bask in the sun,twice a day.often prefer muddy areas.
Brown roofed turtle | Habitat
The painted notie ("Lepidonotothen larseni") is a species of notothen native to the Southern Ocean, ranging east from southern South America to south of the central Indian Ocean, where it lives on the seabed at depths from . This species can reach a total length of . The painted notie eats krill, mysids and hyperiid amphipods. This species spawns in autumn and winter. This species is of no interest to commercial fisheries.
Painted notie | Introduction
The specific name or epithet, "barbouri", is in honor of American herpetologist Thomas Barbour.
Barbour's map turtle | Etymology
Painted turtles defend themselves by kicking, scratching, biting, or urinating. In contrast to land tortoises, painted turtles can right themselves if they are flipped upside down.
Painted turtle | Predators
The only recognized extinct subspecies ("T. c. putnami") dates from the Pliocene and was, with a carapace length of , much larger than other species.
Box turtle | Evolution
In the spring, when the water reaches , the turtle begins actively foraging. However, if the water temperature exceeds , the turtle will not feed. In fall, the turtle stops foraging when temperatures drop below the spring set-point. During the winter, the turtle hibernates. In the north, the inactive season may be as long as from October to March, while the southernmost populations may not hibernate at all. While hibernating, the body temperature of the painted turtle averages . Periods of warm weather bring the turtle out of hibernation, and even in the north, individuals have been seen basking in February.
Painted turtle | Seasonal routine and hibernation
Phrynops paranaensis is an extinct species of turtle from the Huayquerian Ituzaingó Formation of the Paraná Basin, Argentina, likely to be late Miocene in origin.
Phrynops paranaensis | Introduction
"C. rossignonii" is found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. The natural habitats of "C. rossignonii" are slow-moving freshwater rivers, swamps, tributaries, and wetlands. It prefers murky water with large amounts of vegetation, and stays away from open water.
Central American snapping turtle | Distribution and habitat