Spotted turtle

Spotted turtle
A spotted turtle in Virginia.
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Emydidae
Genus: Clemmys
Species:
C. guttata
Binomial name
Clemmys guttata
(Schneider, 1792)[3]
Synonyms
Genus synonymy[3]
Species synonymy[3]
  • Testudo guttata
    Schneider, 1792
  • Testudo punctata
    Schoepff, 1792
  • Geoclemmys sebae
    Gray, 1869

The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), the only species of the genus Clemmys, is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of 8–12 cm (3.1–4.7 in)[4] upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its exact colour from black to a bluish black with a number of tiny yellow round spots. The spotting patterning extends from the head, to the neck and out onto the limbs. Sexually mature males have a concave plastron and a long, thick tail. By contrast, sexually mature females possess a flat plastron and have a tail that is noticeably shorter and thinner than that of mature males. Mature males also have a dark iris and face; females typically have a yellow or orange iris and a similarly coloured face that is distinctly lighter than the males'. Juveniles appear female-like in this regard, and at maturity males begin to develop darker features.

Spotted turtles are aquatic omnivores that inhabit 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 US: the eastern Great Lakes and east of the Appalachian Mountains.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference iucn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Rhodin000104 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)". Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on 2009-04-21.
  5. ^ Beaudry, F.; DeMaynadier, P. G.; Hunter, M. L. Jr. (2009). "Seasonally Dynamic Habitat Use by Spotted (Clemmys guttata) and Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) in Maine". Journal of Herpetology. 43 (4): 636–645. doi:10.1670/08-127.1. S2CID 86573950.