Southeastern Mud Turtle

Description:

Brown, and about an inch and a half long. Underside was a color similar to topside, and not yellow.

Habitat:

Dirt road between farm fields and marsh habitat with brackish waters of the James River. Adjacent to Surry Nuclear Power Plant

Notes:

Thought it might be Eastern Musk Turtle; but I read they are seldom found on land, and "do not occur in brackish water, because they cannot tolerate salt water (Dunson, 1986). None have been found in estuarine habitats or brackish marshes in Virginia." (Virginia Herpetology.)