Painted turtles

Painted turtle - Cragston Lakes

Trying to think of a target critter to photograph for today’s blog post and I came up with turtles. Considering the fact that there are 11 fresh water turtle species across the Empire State, I figured it would be of interest to photograph a few different turtles and then talk about how each differs from the others. So I spent a few hours, covered about 30 miles, and checked out slow streams, marshes, ponds, lakes, and the Hudson estuary to give myself the best chance at a number of species. The numbers were pretty good….the variety species kind of surprised me….ONE. When you consider the fact that 7 of the 11 turtles are either endangered or species of special concern, you can’t be too disappointed that you don’t find more of these in a short day’s outing. Not the best habitat for 3 of the remaining 4, so I should have expected that the star of the show today would be the ubiquitous Painted turtle.

I did a little research on the Painted turtle and there are plenty of interesting facts to fill up a blog post. First of all, there are 4 different types of Painted turtles depending upon the region of the US you are looking in. Eastern, Midland, and Western are subspecies of Chrysemys picta, and then a separate Southern species, Chrysemys dorsals. For our Florida friends, your painted turtle is a smaller version of our NY variety and is quite a bit rounder in shape. Otherwise, the characteristics are similar. Of the three subspecies, we here in the Hudson Valley lie at the point where the ranges of the Eastern and the Midland converge. So….which subspecies did I find today?

The key characteristics to look for are the patterns on the top shell or carapace and the markings on the bottom shell (plastron). On the Eastern subspecies, the carapace is marked with three very obvious straight rows of yellow coloration across the shell. The plastron has little coloration other than a muted yellow hue. The next image is of a Painted turtle I photographed at the Ramapo River boat launch in Tuxedo, NY. . The turtle is positioned so that you can see very little patterning on its underside indicating that this is most likely the Eastern subspecies.

Eastern Painted turtle with plain muted yellow bottom shell (plastron)

A quick examination of the other shots that I made of turtles during the day indicated that indeed, all of our turtles today were “Easterns”. Another shot seen below clearly shows the strong parallel straight yellow lines across the top shell (carapace). Most of New York is populated by the Midland subspecies, but we are close enough to the Eastern region that it appears most of our turtles are of that subspecies.

Eastern Painted turtle showing straight parallel yellow lines across carapace.

Now, how does the Painted turtle get its name? Primarily, the name is derived from the fact that the border where the plastron and carapace meet is appointed with a series of red blotches which appear to be “painted” on the lower shell. Other characteristic markings are the strong yellow and red stripes on the turtle’s head and neck. Both are easily seen on the image below.

The above image reflects a typical sighting of these turtles all lined up on an exposed log. Turtles are cold blooded and will soak up the heat of the mid-day sun by basking. In spite of their love of the solar warmth, these turtles are totally capable of survival in water with temps around freezing. The turtle’s body produces glucose that acts like anti-freeze in their blood, keeping them from freezing solid. Additionally, special proteins bond to ice crystals in the water around each cells, preventing the individual ice crystals from attaching to one another.

This brings us to another fascinating fact about these turtles. If they don’t migrate (which they do not), how do they survive the harsh winters. Painted turtles survive winter by entering a state of dormancy underwater, where they rely on their ability to absorb oxygen through their skin and the lining of their throat and cloaca. As the water temperature drops, their metabolism slows significantly, allowing them to conserve energy for months. They typically bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of ponds or slow-moving water bodies, avoiding freezing temperatures. During this period, they remain largely inactive but are capable of emerging if the water warms up or oxygen levels become too low. This adaptation enables painted turtles to endure harsh winter conditions without leaving their aquatic environment.

Just a few more facts about these wonders of nature. The Painted turtle can survive up to 30 years in the wild. They are omnivorous feeding upon insects, small fish, snails, and aquatic vegetation. They are active hunters swimming along the water’s bottom to find and seize their prey. Belying the typecast “persona” (does persona apply to turtles???) of turtles being slow, these reptiles can swim at a pretty good clip when in pursuit of a meal.

Is it a boy or a girl? The sex of Painted turtles can be determined by several features. First of all, males are typically smaller than females. Secondly, males tend to have longer tails and finally males have longer claws. Seeing the two sexes together makes determination a lot easier, but close study of the turtles in the wild can give you a decent idea of what you are looking at. In the photo above, the two turtles vying for the same spot on the log appear to be a female on the left and a smaller male with longer claws on the right.

And so, even if the day did not provide the hoped for number of species, the fact that I only had the close encounters with Painted turtles allowed me to get to know them just a little bit better.