Spotted Turtle

Description:

The only current species of Clemmys, the Spotted Turtle is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of 8–12 cm (3.1–4.7 in) upon adulthood. Males and females can be distinguished by differences in plastron shape and eye and chin colouration. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its exact color from black to a bluish black with a number of yellow tiny round spots. The spotting patterning extends from the head, to the neck and out onto the limbs. The shell contains anywhere from zero to about one hundred yellow spots, which are a defining characteristic of this turtle. Although perhaps inconsequential, it has been found that the left side of the upper shell has more spots than the right. Spots can always be found on the head, neck, and limbs. The bottom shell (plastron) is yellow or orange-yellow and a black spot is present on each section (scute); however, with age, melanism of the plastron increases until the entire thing is black.

Habitat:

The Spotted Turtle inhabits a variety of semi-aquatic, or in other words, shallow, fresh-water areas such as flooded forests, marshes, wet meadows, bogs and woodland streams in southern Canada (Ontario) and the Eastern U.S., the eastern Great Lakes, and east of the Appalachian Mountains.

Notes:

Another new spotting for me in 2011 :-). I love turtles, but had never seen one like this before. I was at Altona Marsh near Charles Town, WV, when I saw this cute little turtle.