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Terrapene carolina bauri
Like other box turtles, the Florida box turtle has a narrow and highly-domed shell with a hinged plastron that allows it to close its shell tightly. However, the Florida box turtle is quite different in appearance from the other subspecies of Terrapene carolina. Its carapace has a distinct pattern of bright radiating yellow stripes that make it easily identifiable. The coloring of the plastron can vary anywhere from solid yellow to solid black, with any number of variations in between. This turtle has very sharp claws as well as a sharp beak used for catching small insects and eating fruits, vegetables, and fungi
It is endemic to the U.S. state of Florida and the extreme southeastern portion of Georgia
The subspecific name, bauri, is in honor of herpetologist Georg Baur.
Spotted on Sep 15, 2012
Submitted on Sep 19, 2012
3 Comments
This box had the most striking markings i have ever seen!
thanks! and np. I live in a AWESOME area where the northern and sourthern herps colide in temperate climate. N-Fla
Excellent spotting Jason. You have some cool herps in your collection. Thanks for taking the time to add the descriptive text. I especially like the Baur note.