Found this little guy
in a trap along with a common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina). Its common
name is a yellowbelly slider. Turtles were always my favorite animals growing
up probably because I watched a lot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Unfortunately
this one wasn’t as animated. It seemed to be pretty frightened the entire time
and just stayed in its shell. It didn’t help that the snapping turtle attacked
it. But it was cool to hold and see a real turtle. The yellowbelly slider is
often mixed up with the chicken turtle (Deirochelys reticularia). An easy way
to tell them apart is to compare the carapace and foreleg. The Chicken turtle
has a longer and narrower carapace and has a broader yellow band on its
forelimb.
The yellowbelly sliders
have quite a large range for its habitat; it extends from southern Virginia to
the panhandle of Florida. It is commonly found in ponds, slow moving rivers,
marshes, and other similar bodies of water. This particular one was found in
the Dixie Plantation of South Carolina in a dark body of water. This one also
seems to be an adult female. Adult females tend to be 8 inches or larger and
this one seems to be around 8 inches. However this is only an approximation for
I don’t believe we measured this one. The smaller ones are either males or juvenile
females. She also has a short thin tail which is another characteristic of
females. The male tend to have long thick tails.
1 comment:
Wish we could see these pictures!
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