Clemmys guttata

(Schneider, 1792)

Vernacular names
English : Spotted turtle
French : Tortue ponctuée

Classification
Class : Reptilia
Order : Testudines
Family : Emydidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Very small aquatic turtle species with a rounded carapace usually not exceeding 12.5 cm in length. Head, neck, shell and legs mostly black with scattered yellow spots. Orange-yellow chin. Larger yellow blotches on neck.

Range and habitat
East Coast of North America, from South Ontario (Canada) to north Florida. Lives mostly in marshes and shallow rivers with muddy bottom and adjacent mossy banks with lots of vegetation.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : ENDANGERED
CITES : Appendix II
Status : Highly endangered with very fragmented range. Vulnerable to habitat destruction, pollution and destruction of nesting sites. Alarmingly declining.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

Back to “Freshwater Turtles” page