Editing Painted turtle (section)

==Description==

[[File:US BLM painted turtle picta pic2.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A painted turtle is swimming, apparently in an aquarium, and we see it front on at large scale, with its left webbed foot raised.|Painted turtle's yellow face-stripes, philtrum (nasal groove), and foot webbing]]

Adult painted turtles can grow to {{convert|13|-|25|cm|in|abbr=on|0}} long, with males being smaller. The shell is oval, smooth with little grooves where the large scale-like plates overlap, and flat-bottomed.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Species-identification" /><ref group="nb">All turtle lengths in this article refer to the top shell (carapace) length, not the extended head to tail length.</ref><ref name="uga.edu">{{cite web |url=http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/turtles/chrpic.htm |title=Painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta'') |access-date=2010-09-18 |publisher=Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Herpetology Program |archive-date=2012-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901183614/http://srelherp.uga.edu/turtles/chrpic.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=276}} The color of the top shell ([[carapace]]) <!-- the construction here is intentional, to show the word once in parentheses, as it may be seen be readers on other turtle articles, but NOT to repeat it as the drumbeat of technicality vocabularity becomes too strong -->varies from olive to black. Darker specimens are more common where the bottom of the water body is darker. The bottom shell ([[plastron]])<!-- the construction here is intentional, to show the word once in parentheses, as it may be seen be readers on other turtle articles, but NOT to repeat it as the drumbeat of technicality vocabularity becomes too strong --> is yellow, sometimes red, sometimes with dark markings in the center. Similar to the top shell, the turtle's skin is olive to black, but with red and yellow stripes on its neck, legs, and tail.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=184}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=The painted turtle, ''Chrysemys picta'' |journal=Tortuga Gazette |date=October 1992 |first=Mary |last=Cohen |volume=28 |issue=10 |pages=1–3| url=http://www.tortoise.org/archives/chrysemy.html |access-date=2011-01-05}}</ref> As with other pond turtles, such as the [[bog turtle]], the painted turtle's feet are webbed to aid swimming.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=263}}<ref name="SD Zoo">{{cite web|title=Reptiles: Turtle & tortoise |url=http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-turtle.html|publisher=Animal Bytes|access-date=2011-01-02 |quote=Turtle— Spends most of its life in the water. Turtles tend to have webbed feet for swimming.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206125855/http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-turtle.html |archive-date=2010-12-06}}</ref><ref name="BLM">{{cite web|title=Painted turtle |url=http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/wildlife/reptiles/turtles_and_lizards/painted_turtle1.html |publisher=US Bureau of Land Management |access-date=2011-01-02 |quote=They have webbed toes for swimming ...|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624225235/http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/wildlife/reptiles/turtles_and_lizards/painted_turtle1.html |archive-date=June 24, 2012}}</ref>

The head of the turtle is distinctive. The face has only yellow stripes, with a large yellow spot and streak behind each eye, and on the chin two wide yellow stripes that meet at the tip of the jaw.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Species-identification" />{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=276}}{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=184}} The turtle's upper jaw is shaped into an inverted "V" ([[philtrum]]),<!-- intentional construction to share the word, but explain it in article, to convey info while still being accessible, see WP: Technical Articles. --> with a downward-facing, tooth-like projection on each side.{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=277}}

The hatchling has a proportionally larger head, eyes, and tail, and a more circular shell than the adult.{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=291}}{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|1972|p=143}} The adult female is generally longer than the male, {{convert|10|-|25|cm|in|abbr=on|0}} versus {{convert|7|-|15|cm|in|abbr=on|0}}.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=184}}{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=197}} For a given length, the female has a higher (more rounded, less flat) top shell.<ref name=Jolliceur>{{cite journal|last=Jolliceur|first=Pierre|author2=Mosimann, James E.|title=Size and shape variation in the painted turtle. A principal component analysis|journal=Growth|date=1960|volume=24|pages=339–354|url=http://www.faculty.biol.ttu.edu/strauss/Morphometrics/Readings/JolicoeurMosimann1960.pdf|pmid=13790416|access-date=2011-02-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720060534/http://www.faculty.biol.ttu.edu/strauss/Morphometrics/Readings/JolicoeurMosimann1960.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-20|url-status=dead}}</ref> The female weighs around {{convert|500|g|oz|abbr=on}} on average, against the males' average adult weight of roughly {{convert|300|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.sbaa.ca/projects.asp?cn=316 | title=The Science Behind Algonquin's Animals - Research Projects - Painted Turtle | access-date=2009-10-09 | archive-date=2007-10-11 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011165743/http://sbaa.ca/projects.asp?cn=316 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The female's greater body volume supports her egg-production.<ref name=Rowe>{{cite journal|last=Rowe|first=John W.|title=Growth rate, body size, sexual dimorphism and morphometric variation in four populations of painted turtles (''Chrysemys picta bellii'') from Nebraska|journal=American Midland Naturalist|date=1997-07-01|volume=138|issue=1|pages=174–188|jstor=2426664|doi=10.2307/2426664}}</ref> The male has longer foreclaws and a longer, thicker tail, with the anus ([[cloaca]]) located further out on the tail.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Species-identification" /><ref name="uga.edu" />{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=276}}<ref name="Senneke sex">{{cite web | url = http://www.chelonia.org/sexing/sexing_Chrysemys_picta.htm | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130112145515/http://www.chelonia.org/sexing/sexing_Chrysemys_picta.htm | url-status = usurped | archive-date = January 12, 2013 | title = Differentiating male and female '''Chrysemys picta''' (painted turtle) | access-date = 2011-02-07 | last = Senneke | first = Darrell | date = 2003 | publisher = World Chelonian Trust}}</ref>

===Similar species===

The painted turtle has a very similar appearance to the [[red-eared slider]] (the most common pet turtle) and the two are often confused. The painted turtle can be distinguished because it is flatter than the slider. Also, the slider has a prominent red marking on the side of its head (the "ear") and a spotted bottom shell, both features missing in the painted turtle.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/facts/painted_turtle_vs_red-eared_slider.html|title= Painted Turtle vs Red-eared Slider}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="margin: 1em auto; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Painted turtle
! scope="col" | Red-eared slider
|-
| style="border: 0;" | [[File:Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta picta).jpg|320px]]
| style="border: 0;" | [[File:RedEaredSlider05.jpg|300px]]
|}