Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)
The Spotted Turtle is a relatively small freshwater turtle. In adults, the carapace (upper part of the shell) generally measures less than 13 cm in length. This species can be recognized by its black carapace with orange-yellow spots.
The Spotted Turtle occurs only in eastern North America. Populations are located in southern Ontario and in the United States along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Maine to central Florida, and westward from the south shores of the Great Lakes to northeastern Illinois.
These omnivores include in their diet aquatic insects, slugs, snails, crustaceans, tadpoles, dead fish, algae, and aquatic vegetation including cranberries.
The decline of the Spotted Turtle is attributable to multiple factors: excessive capture for illegal trade, habitat fragmentation and destruction, road mortality, predation by numerous species (particularly the raccoon), agriculture and pollution. The Spotted Turtle is particularly sensitive to habitat destruction and excessive collection in the spring when turtles aggregate for breeding and in the fall when they aggregate for hibernation. Due to its slow growth, the number of years it takes to reach maturity and the low survival rate of eggs and juveniles, the Spotted Turtle is particularly vulnerable to increased mortality and capture of adults and juveniles. Moreover, the Spotted Turtle is very sensitive to pollution and toxic products and succumbs rapidly to the degradation of water quality.
Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)
The Spotted Turtle is a relatively small freshwater turtle. In adults, the carapace (upper part of the shell) generally measures less than 13 cm in length. This species can be recognized by its black carapace with orange-yellow spots.
The Spotted Turtle occurs only in eastern North America. Populations are located in southern Ontario and in the United States along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Maine to central Florida, and westward from the south shores of the Great Lakes to northeastern Illinois.
These omnivores include in their diet aquatic insects, slugs, snails, crustaceans, tadpoles, dead fish, algae, and aquatic vegetation including cranberries.
The decline of the Spotted Turtle is attributable to multiple factors: excessive capture for illegal trade, habitat fragmentation and destruction, road mortality, predation by numerous species (particularly the raccoon), agriculture and pollution. The Spotted Turtle is particularly sensitive to habitat destruction and excessive collection in the spring when turtles aggregate for breeding and in the fall when they aggregate for hibernation. Due to its slow growth, the number of years it takes to reach maturity and the low survival rate of eggs and juveniles, the Spotted Turtle is particularly vulnerable to increased mortality and capture of adults and juveniles. Moreover, the Spotted Turtle is very sensitive to pollution and toxic products and succumbs rapidly to the degradation of water quality.