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
North America It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is 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.
how long does it take for painted turtles to hatch
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Hatched turtles grow until sexual maturity: 2–9 years for males, 6–16 for females.
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where are they most commonly found?
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It is found in Mexico (from Sonora southwards) and Central America, as far south as Costa Rica.
Painted wood turtle | Distribution
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
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
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
Incubation lasts 72–80 days in the wild and for a similar period in artificial conditions. In August and September, the young turtle breaks out from its egg, using a special projection of its jaw called the egg tooth. Not all offspring leave the nest immediately, though. Hatchlings north of a line from Nebraska to northern Illinois to New Jersey typically arrange themselves symmetrically in the nest and overwinter to emerge the following spring. The hatchling's ability to survive winter in the nest has allowed the painted turtle to extend its range farther north than any other American turtle. The painted turtle is genetically adapted to survive extended periods of subfreezing temperatures with blood that can remain supercooled and skin that resists penetration from ice crystals in the surrounding ground.
Painted turtle | Growth
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
Nesting is done, by the females only, between late May and mid-July. The nests are vase-shaped and are usually dug in sandy soil, often at sites with southern exposures. Nests are often within of water, but may be as far away as , with older females tending to nest further inland. Nest sizes vary depending on female sizes and locations but are about deep. Females may return to the same sites several consecutive years, but if several females make their nests close together, the eggs become more vulnerable to predators. The female's optimal body temperature while digging her nest is .
Painted turtle | Egg-laying
The painted wood turtle can be found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Spot-legged wood turtle | Distribution
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
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
The hardest freezes nevertheless kill many hatchlings. Immediately after hatching, turtles are dependent on egg yolk material for sustenance. About a week to a week and a half after emerging from their eggs (or the following spring if emergence is delayed), hatchlings begin feeding to support growth. The young turtles grow rapidly at first, sometimes doubling their size in the first year. Growth slows sharply at sexual maturity and may stop completely. Likely owing to differences of habitat and food by water body, growth rates often differ from population to population in the same area. Among the subspecies, the western painted turtles are the quickest growers.
Painted turtle | Growth
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
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
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 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 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
To understand painted turtle adult age distributions, researchers require reliable methods. Turtles younger than four years (up to 12 years in some populations) can be aged based on "growth rings" in their shells. For older turtles, some attempts have been made to determine age based on size and shape of their shells or legs using mathematical models, but this method is more uncertain. The most reliable method to study the long-lived turtles is to capture them, permanently mark their shells by notching with a drill, release the turtles, and then recapture them in later years. The longest-running study, in Michigan, has shown that painted turtles can live more than 55 years.
Painted turtle | Population features
If the weather is unsuitable, for instance a too hot night in the Southeast, she delays the process until later at night. Painted turtles in Virginia have been observed waiting three weeks to nest because of a hot drought. While preparing to dig her nest, the female sometimes exhibits a mysterious preliminary behavior. She presses her throat against the ground of different potential sites, perhaps sensing moisture, warmth, texture, or smell, although her exact motivation is unknown. She may further temporize by excavating several false nests as the wood turtles also do.
Painted turtle | Egg-laying
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 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 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
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
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
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
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
Males reach sexual maturity in three to four years. Females do not reach maturity until about 14 years old. Sperm may be stored in females due to sperm being present in males throughout the year and mating only occurring in autumn. Courtship sequence is similar to other species of aquatic emydines, except males use their snouts as the "titillation tools" rather than extended fore claws. Mature adult males lack fore claws altogether. Females lay an average of 29 eggs per season depending on size of female, with an average of four clutches laid per season per female. Nests are located 1–20 m from water’s edge, primarily on exposed sandbars Other "Graptemys" species nest up to 200 m from water’s edge.
Alabama map turtle | Reproduction
Painted wood turtles are oviparous. Females lay 3-5 eggs at a time. Eggs at low temperatures can be dormant early stages, and can sleep for some time at low temperatures, when the temperature returns to normal incubation can proceed.
Painted wood turtle | Breeding
Annual survival rate of painted turtles increases with age. The probability of a painted turtle surviving from the egg to its first birthday is only 19%. For females, the annual survival rate rises to 45% for juveniles and 95% for adults. The male survival rates follow a similar pattern, but are probably lower overall than females, as evidenced by the average male age being lower than that of the female. Natural disasters can confound age distributions. For instance, a hurricane can destroy many nests in a region, resulting in fewer hatchlings the next year. Age distributions may also be skewed by migrations of adults.
Painted turtle | Population features
Females produce an average of 10 eggs per buried nest; usually they bury two nests per season. Incubation ranges from 2 to 4 months. The eggs are laid under approximately of sand. The eggs are white-colored. Each egg on average measures in length and in width, weighing on average . Only 31% of the female population lays egg each year. The sex of baby turtles is determined by the temperature of the sand during incubation, lower temperatures increase the number of females.
D'Orbigny's slider | Reproduction
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
These turtles have been found in Cretaceous to Paleogene of Canada, United States, Mongolia, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Adocus | Distribution
Adults of "C. mccordi" may have up to three breeding periods in a year. A typical clutch consists of eight to fourteen eggs. The size of an egg is and may weigh . The first hatchlings emerge after incubating for three months, and the last hatchlings leave after four months. Upon emerging, a hatchling's shell is about and has yellow spots on the plastron, which become darker in a few weeks until the entire plastron becomes almost black. As the juveniles grow, their coloration progressively becomes paler until they finally achieve the color of the adults.
Roti Island snake-necked turtle | Reproduction
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
"Myuchelys latisternum" reaches sexual maturity at an SCL of 125–135 mm in males and 182–189 mm in females. Courtship behaviors continue throughout the year but mating is observed during mid January. There is no indication of large congregates of nesting sites, but instead, they are seen in ones or twos at dispersed localities along the watercourse. Nest have been seen in soil as far as 100 m from the water. The females nest from September to December. They can have three to four clutches in one season of 9 to 20 eggs which hatch before winter in about 60 days, with the incubation period shortened in southern regions.
Saw-shelled turtle | Reproduction and nesting
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
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 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
Searching for water, food, or mates, the painted turtles travel up to several kilometers at a time. During summer, in response to heat and water-clogging vegetation, the turtles may vacate shallow marshes for more permanent waters. Short overland migrations may involve hundreds of turtles together. If heat and drought are prolonged, the turtles will bury themselves and, in extreme cases, die. Foraging turtles frequently cross lakes or travel linearly down creeks. Daily crossings of large ponds have been observed. Tag and release studies show that sex also drives turtle movement. Males travel the most, up to , between captures; females the second most, up to , between captures; and juveniles the least, less than , between captures.
Painted turtle | Movement
c. major" (Gulf Coast box turtle) and "T. c. bauri" (Florida box turtle); occur roughly in the areas indicated by their names. "T. c. triunguis" (three-toed box turtle) is found in the central United States.
Common box turtle | Distribution
In spring and summer, the females nest in sand while the males look for food. Females lay 5–17 eggs at a time. The incubation of the eggs takes 73 to 80 days, and the eggs hatch at around . Hatchlings are about long. Their natural lifespan is 40 to 55 years.
Plymouth red-bellied turtle | Life cycle
Painted wood turtles can grow to a maximum length of 20 cm. It has a dome-shaped carapace and the plastron has a continuous ventral line. It has red stripes on its body and it has webbed feet.
Painted wood turtle | Description
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
These turtles have been found in Cretaceous to Paleogene of United States.
Adocus beatus | Distribution
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
During this time, they can be found in wooded areas with wide open canopies. However, even here, they are never far from water and will enter it every few days.
Wood turtle | Distribution and habitat
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
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") 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
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
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 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
It is found in China (Hainan, Guangdong & Fujian), Taiwan, Laos and northern & central Vietnam.
Chinese stripe-necked turtle | Distribution
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
Exhibiting a reproductive strategy unique among reptiles, embryos of "C. rugosa" can survive at least 12 weeks of submersion. The hatchlings emerge approximately 70 days after resumption of development.
Northern snake-necked turtle | Reproduction
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
They winter in South Florida, Cuba, the Bahamas, along both coasts of Mexico and through much of Central America. Occasionally, they may be vagrants further north, including to New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The bird is also found every few years as far north as New Brunswick, Canada. Genetic analyses showed that the species can be divided into three main groups on their breeding grounds: a western, central and eastern group.
Painted bunting | Distribution and habitat
Painted turtles can be found in rivers and lakes along the northern edge of the park.
List of reptiles of Yellowstone National Park | Painted Turtle
Most females return each year to a single beach—Rancho Nuevo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas—to lay eggs. The females arrive in large groups of hundreds or thousands in nesting aggregations called "arribadas", which is a Spanish word for "arrivals". Juvenile turtles tend to live in floating sargassum seaweed beds for their first years. Then they range between northwest Atlantic waters and the Gulf of Mexico while growing into maturity. They reach sexual maturity at the age of 10–12.
Kemp's ridley sea turtle | Life history
"T. ornata ornata" is found in the central United States from western Indiana, to eastern Texas and into Louisiana. "T. ornata luteola" inhabits the driest areas of all the box turtle species, and is found in western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and adjoining areas of northern Mexico.
Terrapene ornata | Range
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
The painted turtle's shell is long, oval, smooth with little grooves where the large scale-like plates overlap, and flat-bottomed. The color of the top shell (carapace) varies from olive to black. Darker specimens are more common where the bottom of the water body is darker. The bottom shell (plastron) is yellow, sometimes red, sometimes with dark markings in the center. Similar to the top shell, the turtle's skin is olive to black, but with red and yellow stripes on its neck, legs, and tail. As with other pond turtles, such as the bog turtle, the painted turtle's feet are webbed to aid swimming.
Painted turtle | Description
The spotted turtle's range overlaps that of many other turtles. It can often be found in the same wetlands as wood turtles, bog turtles, snapping turtles, painted turtles, Blanding's turtles, eastern box turtles, common musk turtles, and eastern mud turtles.
Spotted turtle | Population features
Both turtles are found in Malaysia.
Baracktrema obamai | Introduction
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
Painted turtles are most vulnerable to predators when young. Nests are frequently ransacked and the eggs eaten by garter snakes, crows, chipmunks, thirteen-lined ground and gray squirrels, skunks, groundhogs, raccoons, badgers, gray and red fox, and humans. The small and sometimes bite-size, numerous hatchlings fall prey to water bugs, bass, catfish, bullfrogs, snapping turtles, three types of snakes (copperheads, racers and water snakes), herons, rice rats, weasels, muskrats, minks, and raccoons. As adults, the turtles' armored shells protect them from many potential predators, but they still occasionally fall prey to alligators, ospreys, crows, red-shouldered hawks, bald eagles, and especially raccoons.
Painted turtle | Predators
The paintpot cuttlefish is found in the continental shelf between 20 and 100 meters deep on sandy to muddy substrate or on sea pens in rocky substrate. Eggs are laid in rocky areas at around 20 meters deep and hatch during the summer. Freshly hatched cuttlefish migrate to 80 meters depth in sandy-mud areas from August to September to grow and develop. The mature individuals then migrate to shallower areas in March to spawn.
Metasepia tullbergi | Habitat and ecology
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
Incubation ranges widely depending on temperature, but averages 50 to 70 days.
Eastern box turtle | Reproduction
Before laying her eggs, the female may prepare several false nests. After a proper area is found, she will dig out a small cavity, lay about seven eggs (but anywhere from three to 20 is common), and fill in the area with earth. Oval and white, the eggs average in length and in width, and weigh about . The nests themselves are deep, and digging and filling it may take a total of four hours. Hatchlings emerge from the nest between August and October with overwintering being rare although entirely possible. An average length of , the hatchlings lack the vibrant coloration of the adults.
Wood turtle | Life cycle
Females lay from three to 12 eggs in a previously excavated hole 6-8 in (15–20 cm) deep, and then depart. Incubation is quite long in this species, lasting usually between 5 and 8 months. Juveniles are between 1.2 and 1.6 inches (3.2 and 4 cm) upon hatching. Unlike the yellow coloration of the adults, the juveniles are a white to an off-white shade. Juveniles attain the high-domed carapace soon after hatching.
Radiated tortoise | Reproduction
Many herpetologists report females depositing another egg a few weeks later while some recreational collectors report multiple eggs at a time. Shallow indentations are made to deposit eggs, and then they are lightly covered by sand and/or leaf litter.
Twist-necked turtle | Life history
Although sometimes speckled with yellowish spots, the upper surface of the head is often a dark gray to solid black. The ventral surfaces of the neck, chin, and legs are orange to red with faint yellow stripes along the lower jaw of some individuals. Seasonal variation in color vibrancy have been known to occur. At maturity, males, who reach a maximum straight carapace length of , are larger than females, who have been recorded to reach . Males also have larger claws, a larger head, a concave plastron, a more dome-like carapace, and longer tails than females. The plastron of females and juveniles is flat while in males it gains concavity with age.
Wood turtle | Description
While males consistently reach sexual maturity at small sizes, that size is larger and more variable in females. Some may reach maturity at a plastron length of 24 cm, and others may not mature until they reach a length closer to 30 cm. The onset of sexual maturity will occur anywhere from 5 – 8 years of age. The female nesting season can range anywhere from early April to early August, and incubation lasts an average of 60 – 90 days. In a study examining female reproduction, almost 10% of the females examined in a single breeding season showed signs of inactive ovaries, implying that, unlike males, females may not possess the ability to reproduce every year.
Florida softshell turtle | Females
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
Box turtles appeared "abruptly in the fossil record, essentially in modern form". The absence of strong changes in their morphology might indicate that they are a generalist species. It is therefore complicated to establish how their evolution from other turtles took place. The oldest finds of fossilized box turtles were found in Nebraska (U.S.), date from about 15 million years before present (in the Miocene) and resemble the aquatic species "T. coahuila" most, which indicates that the common ancestor was also an aquatic species. Fossilized specimens of "T. ornata" and "T. carolina" were dated circa 5 million years before present and indicated that those main lineages also already diverged within the Miocene.
Box turtle | Evolution
Chin stripes are found transversally and/or longitudinally. The feet are webbed with a striped tail and limbs. Growth rate is rapid in juveniles, but slows promptly at maturity. Females reach full size around 23 years old and can live 50 years or more in natural conditions. Females have significantly larger jaws, while males have long and thick tails with vents past the edge of the carapaces.
Alabama map turtle | Description
The abundant painted turtle species is captured from the wild, primarily for pet use. Commercial harvesting is a small-scale industry that faces growing restrictions, but still occurs, in some cases unconstrained. Recreational harvesting, is generally allowed in much of the species range. However, it is prohibited in areas where the species is threatened and in a few non-threatened locations. Generally, turtles are captured by live trapping. Floating basking-style traps work better than staked, baited hoop-style traps, but both are employed. Because the turtles are long-lived, with lower replacement rates than typical game, concerns exist for over-harvesting. In this, they are similar to species such as snapping turtles, with late-aged sexual maturity, albeit not to the same extent.
Capture of painted turtles | Introduction
"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
The painted buttonquail is about long. It is a ground-dwelling bird and is found in grassy forests and woodlands. It feeds on insects and seeds, and the males incubate the eggs for a fortnight and then care for the young. The female is the more brightly coloured of the sexes. Her eyes are red, and her crown, face and breast are flecked with white. Her shoulders are chestnut with thin white streaking above them. The male is slightly smaller and duller in colour.
Painted buttonquail | Description
Painted wood turtles can be kept as pets, and it has long been imported into the various parts of Asia, such as Japan, Taiwan and China. The nominate subspecies is the most common subspecies kept in captivity. They will eat commercial turtle food, and will also eat plant matter.
Painted wood turtle | In captivity
Toxochelys () is an extinct genus of marine turtle from the Late Cretaceous period. It is the most commonly found fossilized turtle species in the Smoky Hill Chalk, in western Kansas.
Toxochelys | Introduction
The posterior marginal scutes of females and juveniles (of either sex) radiate outward more than in mature males. The coloration on the neck, chin, and inner legs is more vibrant in males than in females who display a pale yellowish color in those areas. Hatchlings range in size from in length (straight carapace measurement). The plastrons of hatchlings are dull gray to brown. Their tail usually equals the length of the carapace and their neck and legs lack the bright coloration found in adults. Hatchling's carapaces also are as wide as they are long and lack the pyramidal pattern found in older turtles.
Wood turtle | Description
It takes decades for sea turtles to reach sexual maturity. Mature sea turtles may migrate thousands of miles to reach breeding sites. After mating at sea, adult female sea turtles return to land to lay their eggs. Different species of sea turtles exhibit various levels of philopatry. In the extreme case, females return to the same beach where they hatched. This can take place every two to four years in maturity. The mature nesting female hauls herself onto the beach, nearly always at night, and finds suitable sand in which to create a nest. Using her hind flippers, she digs a circular hole deep.
Sea turtle | Life cycle
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
Sea turtles can be found in all oceans except for the polar regions. The flatback sea turtle is found solely on the northern coast of Australia. The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is found solely in the Gulf of Mexico and along the East Coast of the United States. Sea turtles are generally found in the waters over continental shelves. During the first three to five years of life, sea turtles spend most of their time in the pelagic zone floating in seaweed mats. Green sea turtles in particular are often found in "Sargassum" mats, in which they find food, shelter and water.
Sea turtle | Distribution and habitat
Although the subspecies of painted turtle intergrade (blend together) at range boundaries they are distinct within the hearts of their ranges.
Painted turtle | Subspecies
The distribution of "Lepidochelys kempii" is somewhat usual compared to most reptiles, varying significantly among adults and juveniles as well as males and females. Adults primarily live in the Gulf of Mexico where they forage in the relatively shallow waters of the continental shelf (up to 409 meters deep but typically <50 meters or less), with females ranging from the southern coast of the Florida Peninsula to the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, while males have a tendency to remain closer to the nesting beaches in the western gulf waters of Texas (USA), Tamaulipas, and Veracruz (Mexico). It is rare for adult "L.
Kemp's ridley sea turtle | Distribution
"Kinosternon leucostomum" is found in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
White-lipped mud turtle | Geographic range
Females of "C. insculpta" reach maturity at 18 or more years, and males around 16 years. They lay their eggs late in the dry season on sandy river banks. When the offspring are fully developed, they will stay inside the eggs in hibernation until conditions are suitable for emergence. Hatching may be triggered when the eggs have been flooded with water or by a sudden drop in air pressure signaling an approaching storm. Using environmental triggers, along with vibrations created by other hatching turtles in the same clutch, gives a better chance for survival. Using a universal trigger rather than simply waiting for incubation to finish means they all hatch at the same time.
Pig-nosed turtle | Breeding
imbricata" normally contain around 140 eggs. After the hours-long process, the female returns to the sea. Their nests can be found throughout beaches in about 60 countries. The baby turtles, usually weighing less than hatch at night after around two months. These newly emergent hatchlings are dark-colored, with heart-shaped carapaces measuring around long. They instinctively crawl into the sea, attracted by the reflection of the moon on the water (possibly disrupted by light sources such as street lamps and lights). While they emerge under the cover of darkness, baby turtles that do not reach the water by daybreak are preyed upon by shorebirds, shore crabs, and other predators.
Hawksbill sea turtle | Breeding
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
Females will use their hind feet to dig a shallow nest in loose soil; this process can take 2 to 6 hours. Eggs are generally deposited shortly after the digging phase, and each egg is deployed into a particular position. Eggs are oblong, 3 centimeters long, creamy white, and leathery. Nests are then concealed with grass, leaves, or soil. A female can lay anywhere from 1 to 5 clutches of about 1 to 9 eggs in a single year, or even delay laying her clutch if resources are scarce. Females exhibit delayed fertility, wherein sperm can be stored in oviducts for several years until conditions are favorable for fertilization and laying.
Eastern box turtle | Reproduction
Reproductive behaviors among the different species of sea turtles are similar, with slight differences in each of the species. The females come to shore and bury their clutch of eggs on beaches or sandy environments typically at night and well away from the high tide line of the shore. Most females nest only once every three to four years and most species have two to four egg laying time periods per nesting season, which is from spring to late fall. A common number of eggs laid in a nest is often about 100 eggs per clutch. The incubation period of some turtles can range anywhere from 50 to 60 days.
Cheloniidae | Reproduction and life cycle
Green sea turtles migrate long distances between feeding sites and nesting sites; some swim more than to reach their spawning grounds. Beaches in Southeast Asia, India, islands in the western Pacific, and Central America are where green sea turtles breed. Mature turtles often return to the exact beach from which they hatched. Females usually mate every two to four years. Males, on the other hand, visit the breeding areas every year, attempting to mate. Mating seasons vary between populations. For most "C. mydas" in the Caribbean, mating season is from June to September. The French Guiana nesting subpopulation nests from March to June.
Green sea turtle | Life cycle
It is distributed in the rainforest of Brunei, Indonesia (Sumatra and Kalimantan), Malaysia, and Thailand.
Painted terrapin | Distribution
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
"C. flavomarginata" is found in Central China: Hunan, Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing, eastern Sichuan, Zhejiang & Jiangsu provinces (generally along the Yangtze drainage). It is also found in Taiwan and Japan, specifically the Ryukyu Islands, Ishigaki, and Iriomote.
Chinese box turtle | Distribution
Form I males are found in low-water conditions between June and October, peaking in September–October. Males have mating plugs in October. Kisatchie painted crawfish reproduce with the male depositing sperm into an external receptacle under the female's abdomen. She then fertilizes her eggs as she excretes them. Both eggs and hatchlings remain with the mother, held under her body by her pleopods until they are big enough to swim and crawl without assistance. June and July are when juveniles are most commonly found.
Orconectes maletae | Behaviour
It was found only in Plymouth County, Massachusetts before the state began trying to establish populations in other areas. The population was reduced to 200–300 turtles by the 1980s. By 2007, there were estimated to be 400–600 breeding age turtles across 20 ponds, and 2011 within 17 ponds.
Plymouth red-bellied turtle | Population features
For commercial harvesting, collectors use either basking traps or hoop traps. The basking trap is a floating enclosures with sloping sides and a basking surface. Turtles are able to climb up the sloping sides onto the basking surface, but then when they jump off into the center, they can't get back out. Hoop traps are cylindrical mesh traps with a funnel opening. Hoop traps are submerged and turtles are attracted by bait. In Minnesota, trappers say that they prefer basking traps to target painted turtles and hoop traps for "meat" turtles (snapping turtles and softshell turtles). Minnesota harvest records also show a clear pattern of most painted turtles coming from basking traps and most softshell and snapping turtles from hoop traps.
Capture of painted turtles | Methods