northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's a Red-eared Slider that's shedding some of its scutes . These are the carapace segments you can see on many of our turtles. You can see 3 that are in the process of flaking off, and I suspect a spot near the back where a scute flaked off completely. I don't know if Red-eared Sliders shed their scutes more noticeably than other turtles, but the last time I showed a turtle shedding its scutes , it was also a Red-eared slider. Though it might look like something that could be caused by sickness or injury, it's actually a natural way of life for most turtles. April 12, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 272113876, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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...

I got this overhead view of an Eastern Painted Turtle last summer. I think it gives a really good view of the scute alignment that can differentiate the Eastern Painted Turtle from the Midland Painted Turtle . Both of these are essentially the same turtle. They're different subspecies of the same species, so interbreeding would presumably happen quite a bit except they have somewhat different ranges. August 30, 2022 at Washington Valley Park Photo 229847442, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) Each of those "shell pieces" is a scute; this picture illustrates that alignment I've talked about. Across the middle of the back, scutes align perfectly

I don't remember exactly how small this Painted Turtle was, but I remember thinking it had to be pretty young to be that small. (I can assure you that the turtle isn't on a fallen Giant Sequoia tree.) My impression is that pet Painted Turtles can grow 3" in their 1st year, and then their growth rate slows down to more like 0.5" per year. But wild Painted Turtles probably don't grow much in the winter while brumating , so their growth rate is probably slower. I wouldn't be surprised if this turtle hatched in the fall of 2021. The scutes on the carapace also look a little funky; I suspect this turtle is shedding scutes as it grows . My impression, backed up by no data, is that juvenile turtles are a little less likely to dive into the water as I approach. I'm not sure why that would be. Perhaps younger turtles need the sunlight more, or maybe they're young and reckless enough to risk having me around. July 15, 2022 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 2...

A couple weeks ago I spotted 5 turtles (almost certainly Red-eared Sliders  except for the right-most one) basking on a rock. One thing a little interesting was that the turtle in the upper left had scutes on its carapace that were peeling . Though there are diseases associated with peeling scutes, it's generally a common way for water turtles to: Grow their shell as the turtles themselves grow. Preserve buoyancy by losing the weight of their old scutes. A turtle's carapace consists primarily of rib/vertebrate bones, though the outer layer of scutes are made of keratin , similar to our fingernails and toenails. As aquatic turtles grow, their shell grows but their scutes are no longer large enough to cover the enlarging shell. Their solution is to grow new scutes underneath the old ones and then shed the old scutes. This scute shedding helps keep a turtle streamlined and lighter for swimming in water. Land tortoises don't shed their scutes but instead add a new scute layer...

From last summer, here are a couple Eastern Painted Turtles . I suspect they were out catching some rays, basking in the sun. If you get a good look at the carapace , these turtles are pretty easy to identify by the way the scutes on the carapace create almost straight lines from side to side. I have occasionally seen turtles that look very similar but with scutes that don't align; I'm suspicious that they might be Midland Painted Turtles . These 2 turtles with similar names are actually subspecies of the same Painted Turtle species. Since they are subspecies, I suspect they can and do interbreed at times. All that green in the water may not bother these turtles; in fact they probably eat it. I'm not sure of its composition but Painted Turtles are known to eat a fair amount of "duckweed and algae".  August 19, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 152592365, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a pretty good look at an  Eastern Painted Turtle  I met last spring. A few quick thoughts on the picture: You can see the large scutes on the carapace line up left-to-right and yellow/red lines on the head/neck, so it's identification is pretty clear. One difficulty with photographing (many) turtles is getting a good look at the carapace. Many times the sun reflects off them so much it's hard to make out details. This photo hints at this problem, though the angle I had alleviated this issue. (The other problem is when shells are so covered in algae or mud that you can't make out their details.) This is probably a good spot for this turtle. Its getting a lot of sunlight, but if a threat approaches the turtle can quickly jump/fall into the water where some threats (including photographers) can't follow. May 13, 2021 at the Raritan River Greenway Photo 132037746, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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...