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The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in relatively slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They have been shown to prefer large wetlands with long periods of inundation and emergent vegetation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This species is one of the few that is specially adapted to tolerate freezing temperatures for extended periods of time due to an antifreeze-like substance in their blood that keeps their cells from freezing.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This turtle is a member of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Three regionally based subspecies (the eastern, midland, and western) evolved during the last ice age. The southern painted turtle (C. dorsalis) is alternately considered the only other species in Chrysemys, or another subspecies of C. picta.
The adult painted turtle is Template:Convert long; the male is smaller than the female. The turtle's top shell is dark and smooth, without a ridge. Its skin is olive to black with red, orange, or yellow stripes on its extremities. The subspecies can be distinguished by their shells: the eastern has straight-aligned top shell segments; the midland has a large gray mark on the bottom shell; the western has a red pattern on the bottom shell.
The turtle eats aquatic vegetation, algae, and small water creatures including insects, crustaceans, and fish. Painted turtles primarily feed while in water and are able to locate and subdue prey even in heavily clouded conditions.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Although they are frequently consumed as eggs or hatchlings by rodents, canines, and snakes, the adult turtles' hard shells protect them from most predators. Reliant on warmth from its surroundings, the painted turtle is active only during the day when it basks for hours on logs or rocks. During winter, the turtle hibernates, usually in the mud at the bottom of water bodies. The turtles mate in spring and autumn. Females dig nests on land and lay eggs between late spring and mid-summer. Hatched turtles grow until sexual maturity: 2–9 years for males, 6–16 for females.
In the traditional tales of Algonquian tribes, the colorful turtle played the part of a trickster. In modern times, four U.S. states (Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and Vermont) have named the painted turtle their official reptile. While habitat loss and road killings have reduced the turtle's population, its ability to live in human-disturbed settings has helped it remain the most abundant turtle in North America. Adults in the wild can live for more than 55 years.
Taxonomy and evolutionEdit
The painted turtle (C. picta) is the only species in the genus Chrysemys.<ref name="WCSU-Taxonomic" /> The parent family for Chrysemys is Emydidae: the pond turtles. Emydidae is split into two sub families; Chrysemys is part of the Deirochelyinae (Western Hemisphere) branch.Template:Sfn The four subspecies of the painted turtle are the eastern (C. p. picta), midland (C. p. marginata), southern (C. p. dorsalis), and western (C. p. bellii).Template:Sfn
The painted turtle's generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek words for "gold" (Template:Transliteration) and "freshwater tortoise" (Template:Transliteration); the species name originates from the Latin for "colored" (pictus).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The subspecies name, marginata, derives from the Latin for "border" and refers to the red markings on the outer (marginal) part of the upper shell; dorsalis is from the Latin for "back", referring to the prominent dorsal stripe; and bellii honors English zoologist Thomas Bell, a collaborator of Charles Darwin.<ref name="Beltz">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Template:ISBN. (Chrysemys picta belli, p. 22).</ref> An alternate East Coast common name for the painted turtle is "skilpot", from the Dutch for turtle, schildpad.<ref name="VA Herpsoc">Template:Cite journal</ref>
ClassificationEdit
Originally described in 1783 by Johann Gottlob Schneider as Testudo picta,<ref name="WCSU-Taxonomic" /><ref name="Schneider1783-p348" /> the painted turtle was called Chrysemys picta first by John Edward Gray in 1855. Four subspecies were then recognized: the eastern by Schneider in 1783,<ref name="Schneider1783-p348" />Template:Sfn the western by Gray in 1831,Template:Sfn<ref name="Gray1831-p12" /> and the midland and southern by Louis Agassiz in 1857, though the southern painted turtle is now generally considered a full species.Template:Sfn<ref name="Agassiz1857" /><ref name="Rhodin">Template:Cite book</ref>
SubspeciesEdit
Although the subspecies of painted turtle intergrade (blend together) at range boundaries<ref name="AL intergrade">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> they are distinct within the hearts of their ranges.<ref name="Senneke2003">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- The male eastern painted turtle (C. p. picta) is Template:Convert long, while the female is Template:Convert. The upper shell is olive green to black and may possess a pale stripe down the middle and red markings on the periphery. The segments (scutes) of the top shell have pale leading edges and occur in straight rows across the back, unlike all other North American turtles, including the other three subspecies of painted turtle, which have alternating segments.<ref name="Senneke2003" /> The bottom shell is plain yellow or lightly spotted. Sometimes as few as one dark grey spot near the lower center of the shell.<ref name="Nova Scotia Museum">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- The midland painted turtle (C. p. marginata) is Template:Convert long.<ref name="Natural Resources Canada">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The centrally located midland is the hardest to distinguish from the other three subspecies.<ref name="Senneke2003" /> Its bottom shell has a characteristic symmetrical dark shadow in the center which varies in size and prominence.Template:Sfn
- The largest subspecies is the western painted turtle (C. p. bellii), which grows up to Template:Convert long.Template:Sfn<ref>Record-setting Painted Western Turtle found in Regina, CBC News</ref> Its top shell has a mesh-like pattern of light lines,Template:Sfn and the top stripe present in other subspecies is missing or faint. Its bottom shell has a large colored splotch that spreads to the edges (further than the midland) and often has red hues.Template:Sfn
| Eastern painted turtle C. p. picta |
Midland painted turtle C. p. marginata |
Western painted turtle C. p. bellii |
|---|---|---|
| Full overhead shot of an eastern painted turtle | Midland painted turtle standing on tarmac, with neck extended | Western painted turtle standing in grass, with neck extended |
| Handled turtle, exposing the orange-yellow undershell (plastron) | Under shell (plastron) of a midland painted turtle | Under shell (plastron) of a western painted turtle |
_(mirrored).jpg){kind=link}
Until the 1930s, many of the subspecies of the painted turtle were labeled by biologists as full species within Chrysemys, but this varied by the researcher. The painted turtles in the border region between the western and midland subspecies were sometimes considered a full species, treleasei. In 1931, Bishop and Schmidt defined the current "four in one" taxonomy of species and subspecies. Based on comparative measurements of turtles from throughout the range, they subordinated species to subspecies and eliminated treleasei.<ref name="Bishop">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Since at least 1958,<ref name="Bleakney 1958">Template:Cite journal Template:Subscription required</ref><ref group="nb">Bishop and Schmidt alluded to glacial origins even earlier.<ref name="Bishop" /></ref> the subspecies were thought to have evolved in response to geographic isolation during the last ice age, 100,000 to 11,000 years ago.Template:Sfn At that time painted turtles were divided into three different populations: eastern painted turtles along the southeastern Atlantic coast; southern painted turtles around the southern Mississippi River; and western painted turtles in the southwestern United States.Template:Sfn The populations were not completely isolated for sufficiently long, hence wholly different species never evolved. When the glaciers retreated, about 11,000 years ago, all three subspecies moved north. The western and southern subspecies met in Missouri and hybridized to produce the midland painted turtle, which then moved east and north through the Ohio and Tennessee river basins.<ref name="Bleakney 1958" />Template:Sfn
Biologists have long debated the genera of closely related subfamily-mates Chrysemys, Pseudemys (cooters), and Trachemys (sliders). After 1952, some combined Pseudemys and Chrysemys because of similar appearance.Template:Sfn In 1964, based on measurements of the skull and feet, Samuel B. McDowell proposed all three genera be merged into one. However, further measurements, in 1967, contradicted this taxonomic arrangement. Also in 1967, J. Alan Holman,<ref>Template:Cite journal Template:Subscription required</ref> a paleontologist and herpetologist, pointed out that, although the three turtles were often found together in nature and had similar mating patterns, they did not crossbreed. In the 1980s, studies of turtles' cell structures, biochemistries, and parasites further indicated that Chrysemys, Pseudemys, and Trachemys should remain in separate genera.Template:Sfn
In 2003, Starkey et al. proposed that Chrysemys dorsalis, formerly considered a subspecies of C. picta, to be a distinct species sister to all subspecies in C. picta. Although this proposal was largely unrecognized at the time due to evidence of hybridization between dorsalis and picta, the Turtle Taxonomy Working Group and the Reptile Database have since followed through with it, although both the subspecific and specific names have been recognized.Template:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Rhodin"/>
FossilsEdit
Although its evolutionary history—what the forerunner to the species was and how the close relatives branched off—is not well understood, the painted turtle is common in the fossil record.<ref name="Dobie">Template:Cite journal</ref> The oldest samples, found in Nebraska, date to about 15 million years ago. Fossils from 15 million to about 5 million years ago are restricted to the Nebraska-Kansas area, but more recent fossils are gradually more widely distributed. Fossils newer than 300,000 years old are found in almost all the United States and southern Canada.Template:Sfn
DNAEdit
The turtle's karyotype (nuclear DNA, rather than mitochondrial DNA) consists of 50 chromosomes, the same number as the rest of its subfamily-mates and the most common number for Emydidae turtles in general.Template:Sfn<ref name=Bickham>Template:Cite journal as cited in Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name=Killebrew>Template:Cite journal as cited in Template:Harvnb</ref> Less well-related turtles have from 26 to 66 chromosomes.<ref name="Killebrew count">Template:Cite journal</ref> Little systematic study of variations of the painted turtle's karotype among populations has been done.Template:Sfn (However, in 1967, research on protein structure of offshore island populations in New England, showed differences from mainland turtles.)<ref name=Waters>Template:Cite journal as cited in Template:Harvnb</ref>
Comparison of subspecies chromosomal DNA has been discussed, to help address the debate over Starkey's proposed taxonomy, but as of 2009 had not been reported.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The complete sequencing of the genetic code for the painted turtle was at a "draft assembled" state in 2010. The turtle was one of two reptiles chosen to be first sequenced.<ref name=Genome>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DescriptionEdit
Adult painted turtles can grow to Template:Convert 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">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn The color of the top shell (carapace) varies from olive to black. Darker specimens are more common where the bottom of the water body is darker. The bottom shell (plastron) 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.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> As with other pond turtles, such as the bog turtle, the painted turtle's feet are webbed to aid swimming.Template:Sfn<ref name="SD Zoo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="BLM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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" />Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The turtle's upper jaw is shaped into an inverted "V" (philtrum), with a downward-facing, tooth-like projection on each side.Template:Sfn
The hatchling has a proportionally larger head, eyes, and tail, and a more circular shell than the adult.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The adult female is generally longer than the male, Template:Convert versus Template:Convert.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn For a given length, the female has a higher (more rounded, less flat) top shell.<ref name=Jolliceur>Template:Cite journal</ref> The female weighs around Template:Convert on average, against the males' average adult weight of roughly Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The female's greater body volume supports her egg-production.<ref name=Rowe>Template:Cite journal</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" />Template:Sfn<ref name="Senneke sex">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Similar speciesEdit
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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
| Painted turtle | Red-eared slider |
|---|---|
| File:Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta picta).jpg | File:RedEaredSlider05.jpg |
.jpg){kind=link}
DistributionEdit
RangeEdit
The most widespread North American turtle,Template:Sfn the painted turtle is the only turtle whose native range extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific.<ref group="nb">The range description and map primarily rely on Conant and Collins (1998) and Ernst and Lovich have a similar range map.Template:Sfn Additional citations and notes cover details of range boundaries especially in the West.</ref> It is native to eight of Canada's ten provinces, forty-five of the fifty United States, and one of Mexico's thirty-one states. On the East Coast, it lives from the Canadian Maritimes to the U.S. state of Georgia. On the West Coast, it lives in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon and offshore on southeast Vancouver Island.<ref group="nb">Vancouver Island painted turtle populations may have resulted from escaped pets.<ref name="BC"/></ref> The northernmost American turtle,<ref name="BC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> its range includes much of southern Canada. To the south, its range reaches the U.S. Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Alabama. In the southwestern United States there are only dispersed populations. It is found in one river in extreme northern Mexico. It is absent in a part of southwestern Virginia and the adjacent states as well as in north-central Alabama.Template:Sfn<ref name=Conant>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="VAFG range">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is a harsher divide between midland and eastern painted turtles in the southeast because they are separated by the Appalachian mountains, but the two subspecies tend to mix in the northeast.<ref>ERNST, C. H., ORR, J. M., LAEMMERZAHL, A. F., & CREQUE, T. R. (2015). Variation and zoogeography of the turtle Chrysemys picta in Virginia, USA. Herpetological Bulletin, 130, 9-15.</ref>
| Native range of the painted turtle (C. picta) Dark grey for national borders White for state and province borders Dark blue for rivers, only showing those in article | Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend | Intergrade mixtures (large areas only) Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend |
The borders between the four subspecies are not sharp, because the subspecies interbreed. Many studies have been performed in the border regions to assess the intermediate turtles, usually by comparing the anatomical features of hybrids that result from intergradation of the classical subspecies.<ref group="nb">See the following sources.<ref name="AL intergrade" /><ref name="Wright">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Weller">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Sfn<ref name=Ultsch>Template:Cite journal</ref></ref> Despite the imprecision, the subspecies are assigned nominal ranges.
Eastern painted turtleEdit
The eastern painted turtle ranges from southeastern Canada to Georgia with a western boundary at approximately the Appalachians. At its northern extremes, the turtle tends to be restricted to the warmer areas closer to the Atlantic Ocean. It is uncommon in far north New Hampshire and in Maine is common only in a strip about 50 miles from the coast.<ref name="NHFG range">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Hunter>Template:Cite book as cited by {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Canada, it lives in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia but not in Quebec or Prince Edward Island. To the south it is not found in the coastal lowlands of southern North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia, or in southern Georgia in general or at all in Florida.Template:Sfn<ref name=Conant/>Template:Sfn<ref name="AL FG"/>
In the northeast, there is extensive mixing with the midland subspecies, and some writers have called these turtles a "hybrid swarm".<ref name="Bleakney 1958" /><ref name=Pugh>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=DeGraaf>Template:Cite book</ref> In the southeast, the border between the eastern and midland is more sharp as mountain chains separate the subspecies to different drainage basins.<ref name=Conant/><ref name="Green and Pauley">Template:Cite book as cited in Mann p 18.</ref>
Midland painted turtleEdit
The midland painted turtle lives from southern Ontario and Quebec, through the eastern U.S. Midwest states, to Kentucky, Tennessee and northwestern Alabama, where it intergrades with the southern painted turtle.<ref name="Ernst 1970">Template:Cite journal</ref> It also is found eastward through West Virginia, western Maryland and Pennsylvania. The midland painted turtle appears to be moving east, especially in Pennsylvania.<ref name="Sheils">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web
}}</ref> To the northeast it is found in western New York and much of Vermont, and it intergrades extensively with the eastern subspecies.Template:Sfn<ref name=Conant/>
Western painted turtleEdit
The western painted turtle's northern range includes southern parts of western Canada from Ontario through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. This subspecies is one of only two native turtle species in this area.<ref>Guderyahn, Laura B., et al. "LONG-TERM RECAPTURE OF WESTERN PAINTED TURTLE (CHRYSEMYS PICTA BELLII): LONGEVITY IMPLICATIONS." Northwestern Naturalist: A Journal of Vertebrate Biology, vol. 104, no. 1, spring 2023, pp. 72+. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A743240001/SCIC?u=clemsonu_main&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=7841b8d6. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.</ref> In Ontario, the western subspecies is found north of Minnesota and directly north of Lake Superior, but there is a Template:Convert gap to the east of Lake Superior (in the area of harshest winter climate) where no painted turtles of any subspecies occur. Thus Ontario's western subspecies does not intergrade with the midland painted turtle of southeastern Ontario.<ref name=Weller/> In Manitoba, the turtle is numerous and ranges north to Lake Manitoba and the lower part of Lake Winnipeg. The turtle is also common in south Saskatchewan,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> but in Alberta, there may only be 100 individuals, all found very near the U.S. border, mostly in the southeast.Template:Sfn<ref name=Conant/><ref name=Stebbins/>Template:Sfn
,_Oregon_-_20060422.jpg){kind=link}
In British Columbia, populations exist in the interior in the vicinity of the Kootenai, Columbia, Okanagan, and Thompson river valleys. At the coast, turtles occur near the mouth of the Fraser and a bit further north, as well as the bottom of Vancouver Island, and some other nearby islands. Within British Columbia, the turtle's range is not continuous and can better be understood as northward extensions of the range from the United States. High mountains present barriers to east–west movement of the turtles within the province or from Alberta. Some literature has shown isolated populations much further north in British Columbia and Alberta, but these were probably pet-releases.Template:Sfn<ref name=Conant/><ref name=Stebbins/>Template:Sfn
In the United States, the western subspecies forms a wide intergrade area with the midland subspecies covering much of Illinois as well as a strip of Wisconsin along Lake Michigan and part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (UP). Further west, the rest of Illinois, Wisconsin and the UP are part of the range proper, as are all of Minnesota and Iowa, as well as all of Missouri except a narrow strip in the south. All of North Dakota is within range, all of South Dakota except a very small area in the west, and all of Nebraska. Almost all of Kansas is in range; the border of that state with Oklahoma is roughly the species range border, but the turtle is found in three counties of north central Oklahoma.Template:Sfn<ref name=Conant/><ref name="OK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Stebbins/>
To the northwest, almost all of Montana is in range. Only a narrow strip in the west, along most of the Idaho border (which is at the Continental Divide) lacks turtles.<ref name=MTFG>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wyoming is almost entirely out of range; only the lower elevation areas near the eastern and northern borders have painted turtles.<ref name=WYFG>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Idaho, the turtles are found throughout the far north (upper half of the Idaho Panhandle). Recently, separate Idaho populations have been observed in the southwest (near the Payette and Boise rivers) and the southeast (near St. Anthony).<ref name="BLM ID">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Washington state, turtles are common throughout the state within lower elevation river valleys.<ref name="WA herp atlas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Oregon, the turtle is native to the northern part of the state throughout the Columbia River Valley as well as the Willamette River Valley north of Salem.Template:Sfn<ref name=Stebbins/>Template:Sfn
To the southwest, the painted turtle's range is fragmented. In Colorado, while range is continuous in the eastern, prairie, half of the state, it is absent in most of the western, mountainous, part of the state. However, the turtle is confirmed present in the lower elevation southwest part of the state (Archuleta and La Plata counties), where a population ranges into northern New Mexico in the San Juan River basin.<ref name=CODW>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In New Mexico, the main distribution follows the Rio Grande and the Pecos River, two waterways that run in a north–south direction through the state.<ref name="Degenhardt">Template:Cite book</ref> Within the aforementioned rivers, it is also found in the northern part of Far West Texas.<ref name="Dixon">Template:Cite book</ref> In Utah, the painted turtle lives in an area to the south (Kane County) in streams draining into the Colorado River, although it is disputed if they are native.<ref name=Stebbins/><ref name=UDNR>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="UTDNR GAP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Arizona, the painted turtle is native to an area in the east, Lyman Lake.<ref name="Arizona2007">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="AGFD map">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The painted turtle is not native to Nevada or California.Template:Sfn<ref name=Stebbins/>
In Mexico,<ref name="Degenhardt" /> painted turtles have been found about 50 miles south of New Mexico near Galeana in the state of Chihuahua. There, two expeditions<ref name="Smith and Taylor" /><ref name="Tanner1987-07" /> found the turtles in the Rio Santa Maria which is in a closed basin.Template:Sfn<ref name=Stebbins>Template:Cite book</ref>
Human-introduced rangeEdit
Pet releases are starting to establish the painted turtle outside its native range. It has been introduced into waterways near Phoenix, Arizona,<ref name="Arizona2007" /> and to Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Spain.Template:Sfn
HabitatEdit
To thrive, painted turtles need fresh waters with soft bottoms, basking sites, and aquatic vegetation. They find their homes in shallow waters with slow-moving currents, such as creeks, marshes, ponds, and the shores of lakes. The subspecies have evolved different habitat preferences.Template:Sfn
- The eastern painted turtle is very aquatic, leaving the immediate vicinity of its water body only when forced by drought to migrate.Template:Sfn Along the Atlantic, painted turtles have appeared in brackish waters. They can be found in wetland areas like swamps and marshes with a thick layer of mud as well as sandy bottoms with lots of vegetation.<ref>Marchand, K. A., Somers, C. M., & Poulin, R. G. (2019). Spatial ecology and multi-scale habitat selection by western painted turtles (chrysemys picta bellii) in an urban area. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 132(2), 108-119. doi:10.22621/cfn.v132i2.2036</ref>Template:Sfn Areas with warmer climates have higher relative densities among populations and habitat desirability also influences density.<ref>Valenzuela, N., Literman, R., Neuwald, J. L., Mizoguchi, B., Iverson, J. B., Riley, J. L., & Litzgus, J. D. (2019). Extreme thermal fluctuations from climate change unexpectedly accelerate demographic collapse of vertebrates with temperature-dependent sex determination. Scientific reports, 9(1), 4254.</ref>
- The midland and southern painted turtles seek especially quiet waters, usually shores and coves. They favor shallows that contain dense vegetation and have an unusual toleration of pollution.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
- The western painted turtle lives in streams and lakes, similar to the other painted turtles, but also inhabits pasture ponds and roadside pools. It is found as high as Template:Convert.Template:Sfn
Population featuresEdit
Within much of its range, the painted turtle is the most abundant turtle species. Population densities range from 10 to 840 turtles per hectare (2.5 acres) of water surface. Warmer climates produce higher relative densities among populations, and habitat desirability also influences density. Rivers and large lakes have lower densities because only the shore is desirable habitat; the central, deep waters skew the surface-based estimates. Also, lake and river turtles have to make longer linear trips to access equivalent amounts of foraging space.Template:Sfn
Adults outnumber juveniles in most populations, but gauging the ratios is difficult because juveniles are harder to catch; with current sampling methods, estimates of age distribution vary widely.Template:Sfn Annual survival rate of painted turtles increases with age. The probability of a painted turtle surviving from the egg to its first birthday is only 19%. For females, the annual survival rate rises to 45% for juveniles and 95% for adults. The male survival rates follow a similar pattern, but are probably lower overall than females, as evidenced by the average male age being lower than that of the female.Template:Sfn Natural disasters can confound age distributions. For instance, a hurricane can destroy many nests in a region, resulting in fewer hatchlings the next year.Template:Sfn Age distributions may also be skewed by migrations of adults.Template:Sfn
To understand painted turtle adult age distributions, researchers require reliable methods.<ref name="Gibbons1987">Template:Cite journal</ref> Turtles younger than four years (up to 12 years in some populations) can be aged based on "growth rings" in their shells.<ref name="Zweifel">Template:Cite book</ref> For older turtles, some attempts have been made to determine age based on size and shape of their shells or legs using mathematical models, but this method is more uncertain.<ref name="Zweifel" /><ref name="Fowle">Template:Cite book</ref> The most reliable method to study the long-lived turtles is to capture them, permanently mark their shells by notching with a drill, release the turtles, and then recapture them in later years.<ref name="Cagle1939">Template:Cite journal Template:Subscription required</ref><ref name=Macartney>Template:Cite book as cited in {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The longest-running study, in Michigan, has shown that painted turtles can live more than 55 years.<ref name="Zweifel" /><ref name="Congdon2003">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Adult sex ratios of painted turtle populations average around 1:1.Template:Sfn Many populations are slightly male-heavy, but some are strongly female-imbalanced; one population in Ontario has a female to male ratio of 4:1.<ref name="sbaa.ca" /> Hatchling sex ratio varies based on egg temperature. During the middle third of incubation, temperatures of Template:Convert produce males, and anything above or below that, females.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Reproduction" /> It does not appear that females choose nesting sites to influence the sex of the hatchlings;Template:Sfn within a population, nests will vary sufficiently to give both male and female-heavy broods.Template:Sfn
EcologyEdit
DietEdit
The painted turtle is a bottom-dwelling hunter. It quickly juts its head into and out of vegetation to stir potential victims out into the open water, where they are pursued. Large prey is ripped apart with the forefeet as the turtle holds it in its mouth. It also consumes plants and skims the surface of the water with its mouth open to catch small particles of food.Template:Sfn
Although all subspecies of painted turtle eat both plants and animals (in the form of leaves, algae, fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects and carrion), their specific diets vary.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Young painted turtles are mostly carnivorous and as they mature they become more herbivorous.<ref>Moldowan, P. D., Keevil, M. G., Mills, P. B., Brooks, R. J., & Litzgus, J. D. (2016). Diet and feeding behaviour of snapping turtles (chelydra serpentina) and midland painted turtles (chrysemys picta marginata) in algonquin provincial park, ontario. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 129(4), 403-408. doi:10.22621/cfn.v129i4.1764</ref>
Painted turtles obtain coloration from carotenoids in their natural diet by eating algae and a variety of aquatic plants from their environment. Stripes and spots increase red and yellow chroma and decrease UV chroma and brightness in turtles with large amounts of carotenoids in their diet compared to the stripes and spots of turtles with only moderate amounts of carotenoids in their diet.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- The eastern painted turtle's diet is the least studied. It prefers to eat in the water, but has been observed eating on land. The fish it consumes are typically dead or injured.Template:Sfn
- The midland painted turtle eats mostly aquatic insects and both vascular and non-vascular plants.Template:Sfn
- The western painted turtle's consumption of plants and animals changes seasonally. In early summer, 60% of its diet comprises insects. In late summer, 55% includes plants.Template:Sfn Of note, the western painted turtle aids in the dispersal of white water-lily seeds. The turtle consumes the hard-coated seeds, which remain viable after passing through the turtle, and disperses them through its feces.Template:Sfn
| Common foods of the painted turtle | |||
| File:Procambarus clarkii9284477アメリカザリガニ.jpg Crayfish |
File:Dragonfly larva on lake bottom in Algonquin Provincial Park cropped and reversed.JPG Dragonfly larva |
File:Nymphaea odorata Bot. Mag. 40. 1652. 1814.jpg American water lily |
File:Curve of duckweed covered water edged with several bald cypress trees.JPG Duckweed (water surface) |
PredatorsEdit
Painted turtles are most vulnerable to predators when young.Template:Sfn Nests are frequently ransacked and the eggs eaten by garter snakes, crows, chipmunks, thirteen-lined ground and gray squirrels, skunks, groundhogs, raccoons, badgers, gray and red fox, and humans.Template:Sfn The small and sometimes bite-size, numerous hatchlings fall prey to water bugs, bass, catfish, bullfrogs, snapping turtles, three types of snakes (copperheads, racers and water snakes), herons, rice rats, weasels, muskrats, minks, and raccoons. As adults, the turtles' armored shells protect them from many potential predators, but they still occasionally fall prey to alligators, ospreys, crows, red-shouldered hawks, bald eagles, and especially raccoons.Template:Sfn
Painted turtles defend themselves by kicking, scratching, biting, or urinating.Template:Sfn In contrast to land tortoises, painted turtles can right themselves if they are flipped upside down.<ref name="Missoulian">Template:Cite news</ref>
| Important predators of the painted turtle | |||||
| Of eggs: File:Adult fox.JPG Red fox |
File:Plains gartersnake.jpg Plains garter snake |
File:AMERICAN CROW (7143675301).jpg Crows |
Of hatchlings: File:Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina).jpg Common snapping turtle |
File:Water Scorpion - Nepa cinerea - Queens Wood - Hunsdon - UK - Flickr - Bennyboymothman.jpg Water scorpion |
Of adults: File:Raccoon, female after washing up mirror image.jpg Raccoon |
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Life cycleEdit
MatingEdit
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The painted turtles mate in spring and fall in waters of Template:Convert.Template:Sfn Males start producing sperm in early spring, when they can bask to an internal temperature of Template:Convert.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Females begin their reproductive cycles in mid-summer, and ovulate the following spring.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Reproduction" />
Courtship begins when a male follows a female until he meets her face-to-face.<ref name="sbaa.ca">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He then strokes her face and neck with his elongated front claws, a gesture returned by a receptive female. The pair repeat the process several times, with the male retreating from and then returning to the female until she swims to the bottom, where they copulate.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Reproduction" /><ref name="sbaa.ca" /> As the male is smaller than the female, he is not dominant.<ref name="sbaa.ca" /> Although not directly observed, evidence indicates that the male will inflict injury on the female in attempts of coercion.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Males will use their tooth-like cusps on their beaks and their foreclaws during this act of coercion with the female.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The female stores sperm, to be used for up to three clutches, in her oviducts; the sperm may remain viable for up to three years.Template:Sfn A single clutch may have multiple fathers.Template:Sfn
Egg-layingEdit
Nesting is done, by the females only, between late May and mid-July.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Reproduction" /> The nests are vase-shaped and are usually dug in sandy soil, often at sites with southern exposures.Template:Sfn Nests are often within Template:Convert of water, but may be as far away as Template:Convert, with older females tending to nest further inland. Nest sizes vary depending on female sizes and locations but are about Template:Convert deep.Template:Sfn Females may return to the same sites several consecutive years, but if several females make their nests close together, the eggs become more vulnerable to predators.Template:Sfn Female eastern painted turtles have been shown to nest together, possibly even participating in communal nesting.<ref name=Kell/>
The female's optimal body temperature while digging her nest is Template:Convert.Template:Sfn If the weather is unsuitable, for instance a too hot night in the Southeast, she delays the process until later at night.Template:Sfn Painted turtles in Virginia have been observed waiting three weeks to nest because of a hot drought.Template:Sfn
While preparing to dig her nest, the female sometimes exhibits a mysterious preliminary behavior. She presses her throat against the ground of different potential sites, perhaps sensing moisture, warmth, texture, or smell, although her exact motivation is unknown. She may further temporize by excavating several false nestsTemplate:Sfn as the wood turtles also do.Template:Sfn
The female relies on her hind feet for digging. She may accumulate so much sand and mud on her feet that her mobility is reduced, making her vulnerable to predators. To lighten her labors, she lubricates the area with her bladder water.Template:Sfn Once the nest is complete, the female deposits into the hole. The freshly laid eggs are white, elliptical, porous, and flexible.Template:Sfn From start to finish, the female's work may take four hours. Sometimes she remains on land overnight afterwards, before returning to her home water.Template:Sfn
Females can lay five clutches per year, but two is a normal average after including the 30–50% of a population's females that do not produce any clutches in a given year.Template:Sfn In some northern populations, no females lay more than one clutch per year.Template:Sfn Bigger females tend to lay bigger eggs and more eggs per clutch.Template:Sfn Clutch sizes of the subspecies vary, although the differences may reflect different environments, rather than different genetics. The two more northerly subspecies, western and midland, are larger and have more eggs per clutch—11.9 and 7.6, respectively—than the eastern (4.9). Within subspecies, also, the more northerly females lay larger clutches.Template:Sfn
GrowthEdit
Incubation lasts 72–80 days in the wild<ref name="wcsu.edu-Reproduction" /> and for a similar period in artificial conditions.Template:Sfn In August and September, the young turtle breaks out from its egg, using a special projection of its jaw called the egg tooth.<ref name="BC" /> Not all offspring leave the nest immediately, though.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Reproduction" /> Hatchlings north of a line from Nebraska to northern Illinois to New JerseyTemplate:Sfn typically arrange themselves symmetricallyTemplate:Sfn in the nest and overwinter to emerge the following spring.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Reproduction" />
The hatchling's ability to survive winter in the nest has allowed the painted turtle to extend its range farther north than any other American turtle. The painted turtle is genetically adapted to survive extended periods of subfreezing temperatures with blood that can remain supercooled and skin that resists penetration from ice crystals in the surrounding ground.Template:Sfn The hardest freezes nevertheless kill many hatchlings.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Reproduction" />
Immediately after hatching, turtles are dependent on egg yolk material for sustenance.Template:Sfn About a week to a week and a half after emerging from their eggs (or the following spring if emergence is delayed), hatchlings begin feeding to support growth. The young turtles grow rapidly at first, sometimes doubling their size in the first year. Growth slows sharply at sexual maturity and may stop completely.Template:Sfn Likely owing to differences of habitat and food by water body, growth rates often differ from population to population in the same area. Among the subspecies, the western painted turtles are the quickest growers.Template:Sfn
Females grow faster than males overall, and must be larger to mature sexually.Template:Sfn In most populations males reach sexual maturity at 2–4 years old, and females at 6–10.Template:Sfn Size and age at maturity increase with latitude;Template:Sfn at the northern edge of their range, males reach sexual maturity at 7–9 years of age and females at 11–16.<ref name="sbaa.ca" />
BehaviorEdit
Daily routine and baskingEdit
A cold-blooded reptile, the painted turtle regulates its temperature through its environment, notably by basking. All ages bask for warmth, often alongside other species of turtle. Sometimes more than 50 individuals are seen on one log together.Template:Sfn Turtles bask on a variety of objects, often logs, but have even been seen basking on top of common loons that were covering eggs.Template:Sfn
The turtle starts its day at sunrise, emerging from the water to bask for several hours. Warmed for activity, it returns to the water to forage.Template:Sfn After becoming chilled, the turtle re-emerges for one to two more cycles of basking and feeding.Template:Sfn At night, the turtle drops to the bottom of its water body or perches on an underwater object and sleeps.Template:Sfn
To be active, the turtle must maintain an internal body temperature between Template:Convert. When fighting infection, it manipulates its temperature up to Template:Convert higher than normal.Template:Sfn
Seasonal routine and hibernationEdit
In the spring, when the water reaches Template:Convert, the turtle begins actively foraging. However, if the water temperature exceeds Template:Nowrap, the turtle will not feed. In fall, the turtle stops foraging when temperatures drop below the spring set-point.Template:Sfn
During the winter, the turtle hibernates. In the north, the inactive season may be as long as from October to March, while the southernmost populations may not hibernate at all.Template:Sfn While hibernating, the body temperature of the painted turtle averages Template:Nowrap.Template:Sfn Periods of warm weather bring the turtle out of hibernation, and even in the north, individuals have been seen basking in February.Template:Sfn
The painted turtle hibernates by burying itself, either on the bottom of a body of water, near water in the shore-bank or the burrow of a muskrat, or in woods or pastures. When hibernating underwater, the turtle prefers shallow depths, no more than Template:Nowrap. Within the mud, it may dig down an additional Template:Nowrap.Template:Sfn In this state, the turtle does not breathe, although if surroundings allow, it may get some oxygen through its skin.<ref name="Jackson">Template:Cite journal</ref> The species is one of the best-studied vertebrates able to survive long periods without oxygen. Adaptations of its blood chemistry, brain, heart, and particularly its shell allow the turtle to survive extreme lactic acid buildup while oxygen-deprived.<ref name="Jackson 2002">Template:Cite journal</ref>
The painted turtle, like many other turtles, has the ability to breathe through its anus, or cloaca. This unusual adaptation, known as cloacal respiration, allows turtles to hibernate overwinter in colder climates where water surfaces may freeze over. Painted turtles also have specialized skin cells that absorb oxygen from the water. This process is known as cutaneous respiration. These two respiratory strategies, along with their other resilient traits, are vital to this reptile's success in colder climates.
Anoxia toleranceEdit
During the winter months, painted turtles become ice-locked and spend their time in either hypoxic (low oxygen) or anoxic (no oxygen) regions of the pond or lake.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Painted turtles essentially hold their breath until the following spring when the ice melts. As a result, painted turtles rely on anaerobic respiration, which leads to the production of lactic acid.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite journal</ref> However, painted turtles can tolerate long periods of anoxia due to three factors: a depressed metabolic rate, large glycogen stores in the liver, and sequestering lactate in the shell and releasing carbonate buffers to the extracellular fluid.<ref name=":02" />
The shell of an adult painted turtle has the largest concentration of carbonate content recorded among animals.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This large carbonate content helps the painted turtle buffer the accumulation of lactic acid during anoxia. Both the shell and skeleton release calcium and magnesium carbonates to buffer extracellular lactic acid.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A painted turtle can also sequester 44% of total body lactate in their shell.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Despite the shell's large buffering contribution, it does not experience any significant decrease in mechanical properties under natural conditions.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref>
The duration of anoxia tolerance varies depending on the sub-species of painted turtle. The western painted turtle (C. picta bellii) can survive 170 days of anoxia, followed by the midland painted turtle (C. picta marginata) which can survive 150 days, and finally the eastern painted turtle (C. picta picta), which can survive 125 days.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":4">Template:Cite journal</ref> Differences in anoxia tolerance are partially attributed to the rate of lactate production and buffering capability in painted turtles.<ref name=":3" /> Furthermore, northern populations of painted turtles have a higher anoxia tolerance than southern populations.<ref name=":3" />
Other anoxia tolerant freshwater turtles include: the southern painted turtle (Chrysemys dorsalis), which can survive 75–86 days of anoxia, the snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), which can survive 100 days under anoxia, and the map turtle (Graptemys geographica), which can survive 50 days of anoxia.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> One reason for the difference in duration between more anoxia-tolerant species and less anoxia-tolerant species is the turtle's ability to buffer lactic acid accumulation during anoxia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Unlike adult painted turtles, hatchlings can survive only 40 days, but still exhibit high anoxia tolerance and freeze tolerance compared to other hatchling species (30 days for Chelydra serpentina, and 15 days for Graptemys geographica) due to cold winters.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
MovementEdit
Searching for water, food, or mates, the painted turtles travel up to several kilometers at a time.Template:Sfn During summer, in response to heat and water-clogging vegetation, the turtles may vacate shallow marshes for more permanent waters.Template:Sfn Short overland migrations may involve hundreds of turtles together.Template:Sfn If heat and drought are prolonged, the turtles will bury themselves and, in extreme cases, die.Template:Sfn
Foraging turtles frequently cross lakes or travel linearly down creeks.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Daily crossings of large ponds have been observed.Template:Sfn Tag and release studies show that sex also drives turtle movement. Males travel the most, up to Template:Convert, between captures; females the second most, up to Template:Convert, between captures; and juveniles the least, less than Template:Convert, between captures.Template:Sfn Males move the most and are most likely to change wetlands because they seek mates.Template:Sfn
The painted turtles, through visual recognition, have homing capabilities.Template:Sfn Many individuals can return to their collection points after being released elsewhere, trips that may require them to traverse land. One experiment placed 98 turtles varying several-kilometer distances from their home wetland; 41 returned. When living in a single large body of water, the painted turtles can home from up to Template:Convert away. Another experiment found that if placed far enough away from water the turtles will just walk in straight paths and not orient towards water or in any specific direction which indicates a lack of homing ability.<ref name="Caldwell Nams">Template:Cite journal</ref> Females may use homing to help locate suitable nesting sites.Template:Sfn
Eastern painted turtle movements may contribute to aquatic plant seed dispersal. A study done in Massachusetts found that the quantity of intact macrophyte seeds defecated by Eastern painted turtles can be high and that the seeds of specifically Nymphaea ordorata that were found in feces were capable of moderate to high level germination. As turtles move between ponds and habitats, they carry seeds along with them to new locations.<ref name="Caldwell Nams"/>
Interaction with humansEdit
ConservationEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The species is currently classified as least concern by the IUCN but populations have been subject to decline locally.<ref name=iucn/>
The decline in painted turtle populations is not a simple matter of dramatic range reduction, like that of the American bison. Instead the turtle is classified as G5 (demonstrably widespread) in its Natural Heritage Global Rank,Template:Sfn and the IUCN rates it as a species of least concern.Template:Sfn The painted turtle's high reproduction rate and its ability to survive in polluted wetlands and artificially made ponds have allowed it to maintain its range,<ref name="wcsu.edu-Species-identification" /><ref name="TC Proj">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but the post-Columbus settlement of North America has reduced its numbers.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Only within the Pacific Northwest is the turtle's range eroding. Even there, in Washington, the painted turtle is designated S5 (demonstrably widespread). However, in Oregon, the painted turtle is designated S2 (imperiled),Template:Sfn and in British Columbia, the turtle's populations in the Coast and Interior regions are labeled "endangered"<ref name="sara2010">Template:Cite news</ref> and "of special concern", respectively.<ref name="SARA2010">Template:Cite news</ref><ref group="nb">The iconic painted turtle is popular in British Columbia, and the province is spending to save the painted turtle as only a few thousand turtles remain in the entire province.<ref name="HAT PR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="BC Frogwatch">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Nilsen">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn</ref>
Much is written about the different factors that threaten the painted turtle, but they are unquantified, with only inferences of relative importance.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn A primary threat category is habitat loss in various forms. Related to water habitat, there is drying of wetlands, clearing of aquatic logs or rocks (basking sites), and clearing of shoreline vegetation, which allows more predator accessTemplate:Sfn or increased human foot traffic.<ref name="Hayes">Template:Cite report cited in Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Leuteritz">Template:Cite journal cited in Template:Harvnb</ref> Related to nesting habitat, urbanization or planting can remove needed sunny soils.Template:Sfn
Another significant human impact is roadkill—dead turtles, especially females, are commonly seen on summer roads.Template:Sfn In addition to direct killing, roads genetically isolate some populations.Template:Sfn Localities have tried to limit roadkill by constructing underpasses,Template:Sfn highway barriers,<ref name="Missoulian" /> and crossing signs.<ref name="Ottowa">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Oregon has introduced public education on turtle awareness, safe swerving, and safely assisting turtles across the road.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In the West, human-introduced bass, bullfrogs, and especially snapping turtles, have increased the predation of hatchlings.<ref name="Missoulian" />Template:Sfn Outside the Southeast, where sliders are native, released pet red-eared slider turtles increasingly compete with painted turtles.Template:Sfn In cities, increased urban predators (raccoons, canines, and felines) may impact painted turtles by eating their eggs.Template:Sfn
Other factors of concern for the painted turtles include over-collection from the wild,<ref name="Gamble2004" /> released pets introducing diseases<ref name="IN FG pet" /> or reducing genetic variability,Template:Sfn pollution,Template:Sfn boating traffic, angler's hooks (the turtles are noteworthy bait-thieves), wanton shooting, and crushing by agricultural machines or golf course lawnmowers or all-terrain vehicles.Template:Sfn<ref name="AZ FG" /><ref name="VA FG" /> Gervais and colleagues note that research itself impacts the populations and that much funded turtle trapping work has not been published. They advocate discriminating more on what studies are done, thereby putting fewer turtles into scientists' traps.Template:Sfn Global warming represents an uncharacterized future threat.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
As the most common turtle in Nova Scotia, the eastern painted turtle is not listed under the Species at Risk Act for conservation requirements.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Pets and other usesEdit
According to a trade data study, painted turtles were the second most popular pet turtles after red-eared sliders in the early 1990s.Template:Sfn As of 2010, most U.S. states allow, but discourage, painted turtle pets, although Oregon forbids keeping them as pets,<ref name="OR FG prohibit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Indiana prohibits their sale.<ref name="IN FG pet">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> U.S. federal law prohibits sale or transport of any turtle less than Template:Convert, to limit human contact to salmonella.<ref name="CFR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> However, a loophole for scientific samples allows some small turtles to be sold, and illegal trafficking also occurs.Template:Sfn<ref name="ABC">Template:Cite news</ref>
Painted turtle pet-keeping requirements are similar to those of the red-eared slider. Keepers are urged to provide them with adequate space and a basking site, and water that is regularly filtered and changed. Aquatic turtles are generally unsuitable pets for children, as they do not enjoy being held. Hobbyists have maintained turtles in captivity for decades.<ref name="Senneke care">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Myturtlecam">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Painted turtles are long-lived pets, and have a lifespan of up to 40 years in captivity.
The painted turtle is sometimes eaten but is not highly regarded as food,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn as even the largest subspecies, the western painted turtle, is inconveniently small and larger turtles are available.Template:Sfn Schools frequently dissect painted turtles, which are sold by biological supply companies;<ref name="Gamble2003">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> specimens often come from the wild but may be captive-bred.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the Midwest, turtle racing is popular at summer fairs.<ref name="Gamble2003" /><ref name="Freeman">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Midwest Weekends">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CaptureEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
Commercial harvesting of painted turtles in the wild is controversial and, increasingly, restricted.<ref name="Keen">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Thorbjarnarson">Template:Cite book cited in Template:Harvnb</ref> Wisconsin formerly had virtually unrestricted trapping of painted turtles but based on qualitative observations forbade all commercial harvesting in 1997.<ref name="Arnie">Template:Cite journal</ref> Neighboring Minnesota, where trappers collected more than 300,000 painted turtles during the 1990s,Template:Sfn commissioned a study of painted turtle harvesting.<ref name="Gamble2003" /> Scientists found that harvested lakes averaged half the painted turtle density of off-limit lakes, and population modeling suggested that unrestricted harvests could produce a large decline in turtle populations.<ref name="Gamble2004">Template:Cite journal</ref> In response, Minnesota forbade new harvesters in 2002 and limited trap numbers. Although harvesting continued,<ref name="Gamble2004" /> subsequent takes averaged half those of the 1990s.<ref name="MN DNR 2005">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, Minnesota banned the practice of commercial turtle trapping.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2009, painted turtles faced virtually unlimited harvesting in Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma;<ref name="CBD">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> since then, Missouri has prohibited their harvesting.<ref name="MO FG" />
Individuals who trap painted turtles typically do so to earn additional income,<ref name="Gamble2004" /><ref name="Keen" /> selling a few thousand a year at $1–2 each.<ref name="Gamble2003" /> Many trappers have been involved in the trade for generations, and value it as a family activity.<ref name="Arnie" /> Some harvesters disagree with limiting the catch, saying the populations are not dropping.<ref name="Arnie" />
Many U.S. state fish and game departments allow non-commercial taking of painted turtles under a creel limit, and require a fishing (sometimes hunting) license;<ref group="nb">State fish and game creel limits.<ref name="AL FG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="AZ FG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="VA FG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="AL FG comm">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="MI FG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="PA FG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NH FG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref></ref> others completely forbid the recreational capture of painted turtles. Trapping is not allowed in Oregon, where western painted turtle populations are in decline,<ref name="OR FG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and in Missouri, where there are populations of both southern and western subspecies.<ref name="MO FG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Canada, Ontario protects both subspecies present, the midland and western,<ref name="Ontario Hunting">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and British Columbia protects its dwindling western painted turtles.<ref name="BC" />
Capture methods are also regulated by locality. Typically trappers use either floating "basking traps" or partially submerged, baited "hoop traps".<ref name="Gamble2006">Template:Cite journal</ref> Trapper opinions,<ref name="Gamble2006" /> commercial records,<ref name="MN DNR 2005" /> and scientific studies<ref name="Gamble2006" /><ref name="Browne2005">Template:Cite journal cited in Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="McKenna2001">Template:Cite journal cited in Template:Harvnb</ref> show that basking traps are more effective for collecting painted turtles, while the hoop traps work better for collecting "meat turtles" (snapping turtles and soft-shell turtles). Nets, hand capture, and fishing with set lines are generally legal, but shooting, chemicals, and explosives are forbidden.<ref group="nb">State fish and game taking restrictions.<ref name="AL FG"/><ref name="AZ FG"/><ref name="VA FG"/><ref name="MI FG"/><ref name="PA FG"/><ref name="NH FG"/></ref>
CultureEdit
Native American tribes were familiar with the painted turtle—young braves were trained to recognize its splashing into water as an alarm—and incorporated it in folklore.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A Potawatomi myth describes how the talking turtles, "Painted Turtle" and allies "Snapping Turtle" and "Box Turtle", outwit the village women. Painted Turtle is the star of the legend and uses his distinctive markings to trick a woman into holding him so he can bite her.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Adapted from Template:Cite book</ref> An Illini myth recounts how Painted Turtle put his paint on to entice a chief's daughter into the water.<ref>Illinois State Museum. The painted turtle. Retrieved 2010-12-10. "As told by an unidentified Peoria informant to Truman Michelson, 1916; after Knoepfle 1993."</ref>
As of 2010, four U.S. states designated the painted turtle as official reptile. Vermont honored the reptile in 1994, following the suggestion of Cornwall Elementary School students.<ref name="Vermont">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1995, Michigan followed, based on the recommendation of Niles fifth graders, who discovered the state lacked an official reptile.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> On February 2, 2005, Representative Bob Biggins introduced a bill to make the tiger salamander the official state amphibian of Illinois and to make the painted turtle the official state reptile. The bill was signed into law by Governor Rod Blagojevich on July 19, 2005.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Colorado chose the western painted turtle in 2008, following the efforts of two succeeding years of Jay Biachi's fourth grade classes.<ref name="Colorado">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In New York, the painted turtle narrowly lost (5,048 to 5,005, versus the common snapping turtle) a 2006 statewide student election for state reptile.<ref name="NY election">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the border town of Boissevain, Manitoba, a Template:Convert western painted turtle, Tommy the Turtle, is a roadside attraction. The statue was built in 1974 to celebrate the Canadian Turtle Derby, a festival including turtle races that ran from 1972 to 2001.<ref name="Raynor">Template:Cite news</ref>
Another Canadian admirer of the painted turtle is Jon Montgomery, who won the 2010 Olympic gold medal in skeleton (a form of sled) racing, while wearing a painted turtle painting on the crown of his helmet, prominently visible when he slid downhill. Montgomery, who also iconically tattooed his chest with a maple-leaf,<ref name="Whistler's party">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> explained his visual promotion of the turtle, saying that he had assisted one to cross the road. BC Hydro referred to Montgomery's action when describing its own sponsorship of conservation research for the turtle in British Columbia.<ref name="editor">Template:Cite news</ref>
Several private entities use the painted turtle as a symbol. Wayne State University Press operates an imprint "named after the Michigan state reptile" that "publishes books on regional topics of cultural and historical interest".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In California, The Painted Turtle is a camp for ill children, founded by Paul Newman. Painted Turtle Winery of British Columbia trades on the "laid back and casual lifestyle" of the turtle with a "job description to bask in the sun".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Also, there is an Internet company in Michigan,<ref name="PTWD">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a guesthouse in British Columbia,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a café in Maine that use the painted turtle commercially.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In children's books, the painted turtle is a popular subject, with at least seven books published between 2000 and 2010.<ref group="nb">2000–2010 children's books on the painted turtle.<ref name="Collier2010">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Collier">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Hughes">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Gillis">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Hipp">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Falwell">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Turtle Crossing">Template:Cite book</ref></ref>
Notes and referencesEdit
NotesEdit
CitationsEdit
BibliographyEdit
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External linksEdit
- Missouri Department of Conservation video of southern painted turtle (click video link): Note the discussion of red line on top of shell.
- Template:UCSC genomes
Template:Emydidae Template:Taxonbar Template:Authority control