Painted turtle

Description:

The painted turtle's shell is 10–25 cm (4–10 in) long, oval, smooth, and flat-bottomed.[6][nb 2][7][8] 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.[9][10] As with other pond turtles, such as the bog turtle, the painted turtle's feet are webbed to aid swimming.[11][12][13] 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.[6][8][9] The turtle's upper jaw is shaped into an inverted "V" (philtrum), with a downward-facing, tooth-like projection on each side.[14] The hatchling has a proportionally larger head, eyes, and tail, and a more circular shell than the adult.[15][16] The adult female is generally longer than the male, 10–25 cm (4–10 in) versus 7–15 cm (3–6 in).[9][17] For a given length, the female has a higher (more rounded, less flat) top shell.[18] The female weighs around 500 g (18 oz) on average, against the males' average adult weight of roughly 300 g (11 oz).[19] The female's greater body volume supports her egg-production.[20] The male has longer foreclaws and a longer, thicker tail, with the anus (cloaca) located further out on the tail

Habitat:

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.[40] The eastern painted turtle is very aquatic, leaving the immediate vicinity of its water body only when forced by drought to migrate.[60] Along the Atlantic, painted turtles have appeared in brackish waters.[40] The midland and southern painted turtles seek especially quiet waters, usually shores and coves. They favor shallows that contain dense vegetation and have an unusual toleration of pollution.[27][105] The western painted turtle lives in streams and lakes, similar to the other painted turtles, but also inhabits pasture ponds and roadside pools. It is found as high as 1,800 m (5,900 ft)