Description: Carapace olive to dark olive brown in color; transverse seams of vertebral and pleural scutes usually aligned, seams misaligned in some individuals; seams bordered by band of yellow to yellow-orange 0.03 to 0.2 inches wide to form 2-3 narrow crossbands, the anteriormost one being the widest; marginals weakly patterned on carapacial side but brightly patterned with red ocelli on plastral side; some marginal pattern occurs on bridge, forming a black stripe in some turtles; plastron usually unpatterned, but some individuals have dark figures of highly variable design and size bordering midline; head black with 2 round to oval bright yellow spots behind eyes; narrow yellow stripes on head below eyes and on chin; neck with narrow red stripes; limbs and tail dark brown to black with narrow red stripes or dashes.

Habitat: 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. The eastern painted turtle is very aquatic, leaving the immediate vicinity of its water body only when forced by drought to migrate. Along the Atlantic, painted turtles have appeared in brackish waters.

Range: 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. 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.

The eastern subspecies's range extends slightly into east central Alabama, where it intergrades with the southern subspecies. In the northeast, there is extensive mixing with the midland subspecies, and some writers have called these turtles a "hybrid swarm". In the southeast, the border between the eastern and midland is more sharp as mountain chains separate the subspecies to different drainage basins.

Found in these States: AL | CA | CT | DE | FL | GA | IA | IL | IN | KY | MA | MD | ME | MI | MN | MO | NC | NE | NH | NJ | NM | NY | OH | PA | RI | SC | TN | VA | VT | WI | WV

Diet: 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. 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.

Reproduction: The painted turtles mate in spring and fall in waters of 50 tbo 77℉. Males start producing sperm in early spring, when they can bask to an internal temperature of 63℉. Females begin their reproductive cycles in mid summer, and ovulate the following spring.

Courtship begins when a male follows a female until he meets her face to face. 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. As the male is smaller than the female, he is not dominant. Although not directly observed, evidence indicates that the male will inflict injury on the female in attempts of coercion. Males will use their tooth-like cusps on their beaks and their foreclaws during this act of coercion with the female. 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. A single clutch may have multiple fathers.

Nesting is done, by the females only, between late May and mid-July. The nests are vase-shaped and are usually dug in sandy soil, often at sites with southern exposures. Nests are often within 220 yards of water, but may be as far away as 660 yards, with older females tending to nest further inland. Nest sizes vary depending on female sizes and locations but are about 2 to 4 inches deep. 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. Female eastern painted turtles have been shown to nest together, possibly even participating in communal nesting.

The female's optimal body temperature while digging her nest is 84 to 86℉. If the weather is unsuitable, for instance a too hot night in the Southeast, she delays the process until later at night. Painted turtles in Virginia have been observed waiting three weeks to nest because of a hot drought.

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 nests as the wood turtles also do.

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. Once the nest is complete, the female deposits into the hole. The freshly laid eggs are white, elliptical, porous, and flexible. 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.

Females can lay five clutches per year, but two is a normal average after including the 30 to 50% of a population's females that do not produce any clutches in a given year. In some northern populations, no females lay more than one clutch per year. Bigger females tend to lay bigger eggs and more eggs per clutch. 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.

Status: The species is currently classified as least concern by the IUCN but populations have been subject to decline locally. 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, and the IUCN rates it as a species of least concern. 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, but the post-Columbus settlement of North America has reduced its numbers.

Taxonomy: