Western painted turtle, native to North America
With bright yellow stripes on its head, neck, legs and tail, the Western Painted Turtle looks like a living canvas. An olive to black carapace or shell cover features a smooth, and oval surface. The underside shell, or the plaston, includes yellow or red borders, and red bars or crescents.
As the largest of the painted turtles, adult males reach a length of 10 to 17 cm (4 to 7 inches); adult females reach 20 to 25.4 cm (8 to 10 inches). The moderate-sized head has a projecting snout. This sub-species has webbed hind feet and slender claws on its front feet.
Habitat
As an aquatic species, the Western Painted Turtle lives in wetlands such as shallow waters of ponds, lakes and slow-moving bodies of water in low elevation forests and grasslands. This species can thrive in soft, mu...