northeast-flora-and-fauna

Basking turtles - turtles who like to bask in the sun - are frequently found together, sometimes in pretty close quarters crowded on a log or a rock. Wikipedia suggests that a group of turtles is called a bale. This picture represents the Basking Big Three turtle groups [1] around here: Sliders - The top turtle is a Red-eared Slider , a species introduced to this region from other parts of the country. There are concerns that they might out-compete our truly native turtles, though right now we have plenty of other turtles. Pond Slider is the common name for the species, and around here the Red-eared Slider is the most commonly spotted subspecies. Painteds - The 2 turtles in the middle are Painted Turtles, probably Eastern Painted Turtles , our most common Painted Turtle. They have smooth (sometimes shiny) carapaces segmented into easily distinguishable scutes . Painted Turtle is the species name, while Eastern Painted Turtle refers to a particular subspecies. Cooters - The large t...

Being able to identify the types of turtles we have is something I don't consider myself to be especially good at. My primary reference is something I think I bought at a NJ Audubon branch: Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Jersey . (Since this only documents herptiles of NJ, it theoretically prevents me from seeing a picture of a turtle, thinking it's a very good match for my turtle, only to read that the turtle only lives in Madagascar.) The other resource that I use kicks in when I'm submitting my sightings to iNaturalist . They let you type the name of the species, but clicking in the field prompts iNaturalist to give suggestions, frequently of various species though sometimes the best they can do is suggest a genus, family, order, etc. I'm not sure what percentage of the time iNaturalist is correct, though clearly distinctive plants/animals with no similar ones living in the area greatly improves their success. Poor photo quality can also hurt its effe...