Spotted turtle Facts

Spotted turtle Facts

Source: 

"Clemmys guttataHolbrookV1P11A Flipped" by Clemmys_guttataHolbrookV1P11A.jpg: Holbrook, John Edwards, 1794-1871 (English Wikipedia)derivative work: NYMFan69-86 (talk) - Clemmys_guttataHolbrookV1P11A.jpg. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clemmys_guttataHolbrookV1P11A_Flipped.jpg#/media/File:Clemmys_guttataHolbrookV1P11A_Flipped.jpg

1. Spotted turtles range from southern Maine and extreme southern Ontario west to Illinois and south to northern Florida in the east. Isolated colonies can be found in southern Quebec, central Georgia and north central Florida. They require clean, shallow, slow moving bodies of water with muddy or mucky bottoms. They reside in marshy meadows, wet woodlands, boggy areas and beaver ponds. 

2. Males tend to have brown eyes and chin and a slightly concave plastron (lower shell), females have orange eyes, a yellow chin and a flat plastron. Females are slightly larger than males on average.

3. As the name suggests, spotted turtles have yellow spots on their carapace, which is dark brown or black. Older individual’s spots may be faded, and some individuals lack spots. 

4. The plastron is yellow or orange, and has a large black spot in each scute that grows larger with age. The head is black, with varying amounts of yellow spots, and a yellow or orange blotch on either side. The underside of the neck is reddish- orange to pink.

5. Animal diet includes invertebrates, small fish, small frogs and tadpoles. Will also occasionally feed on carrion.

6. Plant diet includes algae and aquatic plants, especially the seeds of water lilies.

7. Have a shell for protection.

8. Flattened shell and webbed feet aid in swimming.

9. Can slow their heartbeat so they need less oxygen when under water.

10. Like other cold-blooded creatures, they will bask in the sun for warmth, but retreat into the water if they need to cool off.

"Spotted Turtle - Clemmys guttata" by John J. Mosesso, NBII - http://images.nbii.gov/details.php?id=22104&cat=Reptiles. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spotted_Turtle_-_Clemmys_guttata.jpg#/media/File:Spotted_Turtle_-_Clemmys_guttata.jpg.

11. No teeth, but jaws have tough, horny plates for gripping food.

12. During the winter, the turtles will hibernate by burying themselves in the mud. In the peak heat of summer they are also known to become dormant, seeking shelter from the heat on land, under tree roots.

13. Spotted turtles are active all day long in early spring and can be found basking on logs, muskrat houses, and grass or grassy knolls.  At night, they burrow into muddy bottoms of the wetland or crawl into mammal burrows or under vegetation.  Only nesting females are active in the evening.

14. When surprised by predators while basking, they will dive into the water and bury themselves in the mud.

15. Preyed on by a wide variety of species, but most common predators are raccoons and muskrats.

16. Spotted turtles compete with other aquatic turtles, wading birds, predatory fish and some mammals for prey items.

17. Spotted turtles fit an important role as both predators of invertebrates and other small prey, and as a source of food for larger predators.