More About Painted Turtles

A couple days ago I showed a pair of Painted Turtles that I presumed to be Eastern Painted Turtles. Here's an example of a Painted Turtle where the sections of the carapace (scutes) don't align particularly well; their edges (going left to right) do more of a zig-zap thing. When I see this, I have to wonder whether this turtle has some Midland Painted Turtle heritage. (A video is here.) My guess is that unless a pet Midland is released locally, I'm unlikely to see a "pure" Midland Painted Turtle since any immigrant Midlands will interbreed with the far more numerous Eastern Painted Turtles.

Here's the Painted Turtle that doesn't have its scutes lining up.
Possible Midland Painted Turtle?
September 1, 2022 at Duke Island Park
Photo 238905615, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

For comparison, here's another Painted Turtle where the scutes align pretty solidly.
Classic Eastern Painted Turtle
September 1, 2022 at Duke Island Park
Photo 238905626, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)




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