Details
Chrysemys picta
The painted turtle is a small North American freshwater turtle marked with red and yellow. It basks on logs and feeds on plants and small animals in quiet water.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It inhabits Nearctic ponds, lakes, marshes, and slow rivers. Shallow vegetated water with logs or rocks for basking is favored.
Shell length 10-25 cm; weight 300-500 g. The smooth dark shell has red markings along the edge, and yellow lines mark the head and neck. The body is flattened for swimming.
Diurnal and loosely social, it often basks in groups on sunny days. At danger it slides quickly into the water.
An omnivore, it eats aquatic plants, algae, insects, snails, and carrion. Young turtles tend to take more animal food.
Females dig nests on land and lay eggs in soil. Hatchlings emerge and move toward water.
It is listed as Least Concern. Road mortality of nesting females and wetland loss can still affect local populations.
