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Project Noah Nature School
Terrapene carolina carolina
One of the brightest colored box turtles I have ever seen. This individual is a male, as male box turtles normally posses red eyes (irises) while the females display brown eyes.
Spotted in Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Atlanta, GA.
The name box turtle comes from the structure of their shells which consist of a high domed carapace and a large hinged plastron which allows these turtles to close their shells completely, sealing their vulnerable head and limbs in an impenetrable "box".
Spotted on Jun 20, 2011
Submitted on Sep 13, 2011
2 Comments
This guy is probably the brightest box I've ever seen as well. However, the eastern box turtles are always pretty brightly colored. Probably my favorite turtle in the southeast!
That is a brightly colored box turtle! A majority of the ones I find in Missouri are the 3 three-toed box turtle subspecies which usually have a much more drab brown-colored carapace.