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| The painted turtle, Chrysemys picta (Gray, 1844) is perhaps the most often encountered freshwater turtle in North America, with the possible exception of the common snapping turtle. Four subspecies are recognized and they are distributed from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast (absent from Florida) and westward to the Pacific northwest (Vancouver Island and Chihuahua, Mexico). California and Arizona populations are probably the result of released pets. Adults may reach 245 mm. Clutches of 1-25 eggs are laid in a nest. This species is omnivorous, feeding on aquatic plants and animals. Its elevational distribution extends from sea level to 2500 m. The adult on the top and the juvenile below it are both from northern Will County, Illinois. |
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| The wood turtle, Calemys insculpta (LeConte, 1829), was for many years placed in the genus Clemmys. It is distributed from southeastern Canada westward to eastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa and southward to Virginia. Adults can reach 234 mm. It is extremely terrestrial, wandering far overland, but it will also follow streams, and it hibernates in the water. |
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| The Spotted Turtle, Clemmys guttata (Schneider, 1792) inhabits eastern North America. There are isolated populations in southern Quebec and Ontario, and in western Vermont. It ranges from Maine to central Florida and eastward to Indiana, with an isolated population in the Chicago area. Adults may have a carapace length that reaches 127 mm. This is a semi-aquatic species that likes a soft substrate and aquatic vegetation. Females lay one or two clutches of 2-8 eggs in June that require 70-83 days of incubation. Spotted turtles are omnivorous, eating a variety of invertebrates, plants, and algae. Cool temperatures are preferred and they have been found mating at 8-10 C. |
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| The Chicken Turtle, Dierochelys reticularia (Latereille, 1801) inhabits the eastern sea board and Gulf Coastal Plain from southern Virginia to southern Florida westward to eastern Texas and Oklahoma. It ranges as far north as southern Missouri in the Mississippi River Valley. Adult carapace length may reach 254 mm. This specimen is from peninsular Florida. This omnivorous turtle has an exceptionally long neck and lives in non-moving water. Clutches of 5-15 eggs in both spring and fall nesting periods. It appears to be most closely related to the painted turtles (Chrysemys). |
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| The Blanding's Turtle, Emys blandingi (Holbrook, 1838) adults may reach 274 mm in carapace length. The animals in the photographs here are from Will County, Illinois. It ranges from southern Ontario and the Great Lakes region westward to Nebraska and northern Missouri, with isolated populations in New England and Nova Scotia. Blanding's Turtles are marsh inhabitants that will also use lakes, ponds, and creeks. They like shallow water, and will wander overland considerable distances from one body of water to another. Nesting occurs in June and July, and females lay several clutches of 6-17 eggs that require a 65-80 day incubation period. It is omnivorous. Recent molecular studies have shown that the Blanding's Turtles form a monophyletic clade with the Pacific Pond Turtle, Emys marmarotus, and the European pond turtle, Emys obicularis. For many years the Blanding's turtle was placed in the genus Emydoidea. |
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| The Yellow Blotched Map Turtle, Graptemys flavimarginata Cagle, 1954 inhabits the Pascagoula River drainage in Mississippi. These specimens were photographed at the southern end of the Pascagoula in Mississippi from a canoe. Adults may reach a carapace length of 175 mm. This turtle lives in areas of the river with fast currents, sand or clay bottoms, and piles of brush that they use for basking. It most likely stays close to the river, and females may venture only a short distance from the water to deposit their eggs. Like other map turtles it is most likely carnivorous, feeding on snails and insects. And, like other map turtles females are larger than males. |
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| The Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina (Linnaeus, 1758). Photographed in South Carolina. The Eastern Box Turtle ranges from Central Michigan and Massachusetts southward to Georgia and westward to central Illinois. Box Turtles are terrestrial, and this species tends to be associated with forests. All members of the genus Terrapene form a monophyletic clade and appear to be the sister group to the Spotted Turtle, Clemmys guttata. Box turtles are omnivorous, eating carrion, mushrooms, and invertebrates. They hibernate in the frost zone. Nesting occurs from May to July, with females laying 3-8 eggs that require 75-90 days of incubation. |
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| The Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata (Agassiz, 1857) Photographed in Fulton Co., Illinois, USA. This race inhabits the prairies of the Great Plains from Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin west to South Dakota and Colorado and southward to Louisiana, Texas, and Arizona. It prefers grassland and open scrub habitats. This is an omnivorous species with carnivorous tendencies. Like other box turtles it is terrestrial. Females lay clutches of 2-8 eggs that incubate for about 70 days. |
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| Emydids are freshwater and terrestrial turtles inhabiting the Western Hemisphere from Canada to northeast Brazil and in the Eastern Hemisphere from Europe to the Ural Mountains of Russia. But, most species inhabit North America. There are at least 11 genera with about 35 species. In size they range from 80-400 mm in carapace length. All tend to lay relatively small (2-8) clutches of eggs, but some of the larger species produce larger clutches. Eggs tend to be laid in the spring or early summer and hatch in the late summer. But, at high latitude hatchlings may over winter in the nest. Juveniles tend to be carnivorous but as they grow they become more omnivorous. Most are aquatic or semi-aquatic, with the box turtles (Terrapene) being terrestrial. Most species are freshwater but Malaclemys terrapin is coastal and uses brackish water, and some species have populations in coastal areas and they may enter brackish water or full sea water. Most species are know to bask and the aquatic species can often be seen raising their body temperatures on cool days by sitting on logs and other objects that emerge from the water. |
