Eastern Painted Turtles

Here are a group of Eastern Painted Turtles I met. I talked about identification a little earlier; the scute alignment (if you can see the carapace well) is a good identifier here in New Jersey.

Of the turtles I see basking on logs, rocks, and the banks of waterways, this might be the most common turtle I encounter. It sounds like the Red-eared Slider is more aggressive and so might eventually muscle them out, but right now they're pretty well represented around here.

There is some sexual dimorphism in these turtles. The females are a little bigger than the males and have a more domed carapace while the males have longer foreclaws. Still, I suspect these clues work well if you have a male and female right in front of you. In most of my pictures I don't think the differences are great enough to allow more than an educated guess as to the sex of these turtles.

They are omnivorous, and will eat small fish and arthropods in addition to vegetation. Juveniles are more vulnerable than adults, and get eaten by herons, bass, raccoons, and snapping turtles. Adults are threatened more by human activity, like cars and lawn mowers, though it's likely they'll sometimes be taken by eagles.

April 5, 2021 at the Raritan River Greenway
Photo 120288938, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)