Editing Red-eared slider (section)

==Description==

[[File:Sheldonbasking.JPG|thumb|left|Red-eared slider basking on a floating platform under a [[sunlamp]]]]
[[File:RedEaredSliderShellyPlastron.jpg|thumb|left|Plastron of a young red-eared slider turtle]]
The [[carapace]] of this species can reach more than {{convert|40|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, but the typical length ranges from {{convert|15|to|20|cm|in|abbr=on|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=La tortuga de Florida |department=Tortugas |website=belonweb.com |url=http://www.belonweb.com/tortugas/tortuga.htm |access-date=21 July 2007}}</ref> The females of the species are usually larger than the males. They typically live between 20–30&nbsp;years, although some individuals can live for more than 40&nbsp;years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tortuga de orejas rojas |url=http://www.mascotasenlinea.cl/MascExot/PME_PrincipTORTUGA.htm |access-date=21 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027233222/http://www.mascotasenlinea.cl/MascExot/PME_PrincipTORTUGA.htm |archive-date=27 October 2007 }}</ref> Their life expectancy is Longer when they are kept in [[Captivity (animal)|captivity]].<ref name=mancha/> The quality of their living environment has a strong influence on their lifespans and [[quality of life|well being]].

The shell is divided into the upper or dorsal [[carapace]], and the lower, ventral carapace or [[plastron]].<ref name="principal" /> The upper carapace consists of the vertebral [[scutes]], which form the central, elevated portion; pleural scutes that are located around the vertebral scutes; and then the marginal scutes around the edge of the carapace. The rear marginal scutes are notched. The scutes are bony [[keratin]]ous elements. The carapace is oval and flattened (especially in the male) and has a weak [[keel]] that is more pronounced in the young.<ref name="hibernar">{{cite web |author=Rodríguez Garrido, María del Carmen |title=Tortugas en estanques de jardín |trans-title=Turtles in garden ponds |language=es |website=elestanque.com |url=http://www.elestanque.com/articulos/tortugas_en_estanques.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130409021441/http://www.elestanque.com/articulos/tortugas_en_estanques.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=9 April 2013 |access-date=21 July 2007}}</ref> The color of the carapace changes depending on the age of the turtle. It usually has a dark green background with light and dark, highly variable markings. In young or recently hatched turtles, it is leaf green and gets slightly darker as a turtle gets older, until it is a very dark green, and then turns a shade between brown and olive green. The plastron is always a light yellow with dark, paired, irregular markings in the centre of most scutes. The plastron is highly variable in pattern. The head, legs, and tail are green with fine, irregular, yellow lines. The whole shell is covered in these stripes and markings that aid in [[Mimicry|camouflaging]] an individual.

[[File:Tortue floride france.JPG|thumb|left|The turtle can retract its head and extremities inside its shell if it feels threatened.]]These turtles also have a complete [[Skeleton|skeletal system]], with partially [[webbed feet]] that help them to swim and that can be withdrawn inside the carapace along with the head and tail. The red stripe on each side of the head distinguishes the red-eared slider from all other North American species and gives this species its name, as the stripe is located behind the [[eye]]s, where their (external) ears would be. These stripes may lose their color over time.<ref name="mancha">{{cite web |title=Tortuga de orejas rojas |language=es |website=es.vivapets.com |url=http://es.vivapets.com/breed/tortuga_de_orejas_rojas/123 |access-date=21 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711215013/http://es.vivapets.com/breed/tortuga_de_orejas_rojas/123 |archive-date=11 July 2007}}</ref> Color and vibrance of ear stripe can indicate immune health, with bright red having higher immune response than yellow stripes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Polo-Cavia |first1=Nuria |last2=López |first2=Pilar |last3=Martín |first3=José |date=2013 |title=Head coloration reflects health state in the red-eared slider Trachemys scripta elegans |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23360179 |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=153–162 |doi=10.1007/s00265-012-1435-z |jstor=23360179 |bibcode=2013BEcoS..67..153P |s2cid=253807552 |issn=0340-5443|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some individuals can also have a small mark of the same color on the top of their heads. The red-eared slider does not have a visible [[outer ear]] or an external auditory canal; instead, it relies on a [[middle ear]] entirely covered by a cartilaginous tympanic disc.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jakob |author2=Brandt, Christian |author3=Willis, Katie L. |author4=Christensen, Christian Bech |author5=Ketten, Darlene |author6=Edds-Walton, Peggy |author7=Fay, Richard R. |author8=Madsen, Peter T. |author9=Carr, Catherine E. |display-authors=6 |year=2012 |title=Specialization for underwater hearing by the tympanic middle ear of the turtle, ''Trachemys scripta elegans'' |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |volume=279 |issue=1739 |pages=2816–2824 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.0290 |pmid=22438494 |pmc=3367789}}</ref>

Like other turtles, the species is [[poikilotherm]] and thus dependent on the temperature of its environment.<ref name="principal" /> For this reason, it needs to sunbathe frequently to warm up and maintain body temperature.

=== Sexual dimorphism ===
{{Main|Sexual dimorphism}}

[[File:Turle124.jpg|thumb|right|Male red-eared slider: Note the large claws on the front foot.]]
[[File:Pata Tortuga.JPG|thumb|Female turtle's foot: Note the short claws.|left]]

Some [[sexual dimorphism|dimorphism]] exists between males and females.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Tachemys scripta'' |website=Animal Diversity Web (Animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu) |department=UM Museum of Zoology |publisher=[[University of Michigan]] |place=Ann Arbor, MI |url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Trachemys_scripta.html |access-date=2010-03-16}}</ref>

Red-eared slider young look practically identical regardless of their sex, making distinguishing them difficult. One useful method, however, is to inspect the markings under their carapace, which fade as the turtles age. Distinguishing the sex of adults is much easier, as the shells of mature males are smaller than those of females.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Gibbons, J. Whitfield |author2=Lovich, Jeffery E. |name-list-style=amp |year=1990 |title=Sexual dimorphism in turtles, with emphasis on the slider turtle (''Trachemys scripta'') |journal=Herpetological Monographs |volume=4 |pages=1–29 |doi=10.2307/1466966 |jstor=1466966 |url=http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/105.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105184800/http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/105.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-05}}</ref> Male red-eared sliders reach sexual maturity when their carapaces' diameters measure {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on}} and females reach maturity when their carapaces measure about {{convert|15|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Both males and females reach sexual maturity at 5–6&nbsp;years old. Males are normally smaller than females, although this parameter is sometimes difficult to apply, as individuals being compared could be of different ages.

Males have longer [[claw]]s on their front feet than the females; this helps them to hold onto a female during [[mating]], and is used during [[courtship display]]s.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Mohan-Gibbons, Hm |author2=Norton, T. |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=Behaviour of Exotic Pets |editor=Tynes, V.V. |chapter=Turtles, tortoises and terrapins |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |isbn=978-0-8138-0078-3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dj4RbHOBztQC&pg=PA33 |via=Google Books}}</ref> The males' tails are thicker and longer. Typically, the cloacal opening of a female is at or under the rear edge of the carapace, while the male's opening occurs beyond the edge of the carapace. The male's plastron is slightly [[Concave polygon|concave]], while that of the female is completely flat. The male's concave plastron also helps to stabilize the male on the female's carapace during mating.<ref>{{cite book |author1=O'Rourke, D.P. |author2=Schumacher, J. |title=Laboratory Animal Medicine |editor1=Fox, James G. |editor2=Anderson, Lynn C. |editor3=Loew, Franklin M. |editor4=Quimby, Fred W. |chapter=Biology and Diseases of Reptiles |publisher=Academic Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-12-263951-7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2ftfPMJnMMC&pg=PA843 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Older males can sometimes have a dark greyish-olive green [[melanistic]] coloration, with very subdued markings. The red stripe on the sides of the head may be difficult to see or be absent. The female's appearance is substantially the same throughout her life.