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Trachemys scipta
Eastern populations have a yellow spot behind their eye which is the most recognizable characteristic for identification in the field; juvenile turtles have vivid yellow markings. Vertical yellow bands streak the carapace (top of shell), while the plastron (bottom of shell) is primarily yellow. Older turtles tend to lose these patterns and become darker and more difficult to identify.
Mason Farm Biological Reserve
Spotted on Mar 21, 2013
Submitted on Mar 31, 2013
5 Comments
Thanks, Aaron. I will go along with that ID as I'm just not knowledgeable enough to definitively decide.
I've only seen melanistic male red-eared sliders, and this turtle looks to be a female. Even though the red-ears have been introduced into NC, I think turtlesandtombstones is on the right track. Take a look at the bottom-left photo on this page:
http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_nc/tur...
Thanks for the suggestions, turtlesandtombstones and Neil. I spent some time comparing it to a page of North Carolina turtles and couldn't decide. What do you suggest I put for an ID?
Well, the smaller turtle in the 3rd pic is definitely a Painted Turtle. The larger one has the look of a melanistic red-eared slider, but it is hard to tell.
Looks like a yellow-bellied slider.