Description: The Nicaraguan slider has a carapace with many circular markings on it, and in the middle of each marking, there is a dark spot. The main color of the carapace and the turtle's skin is olive green to dark brown. It also has yellow markings on it as well. The supratemporal markings can be orange, pink, or yellow. Males averagely grow to 8–12 inches straight carapace length, and females can averagely grow to 15 inches or larger.
Habitat: Vegetation choked lowland rivers and lakes and is most often seen as it basks, sometimes in great numbers, on mats of submerged vegetation, logs, rocks, and sandbars.
Range: Found in several small areas in southern California.
Diet: In the wild, the juvenile Nicaraguan slider eats the following: tadpoles, crustaceans, fish, insects and insect larvae.
Reproduction: The nesting season ranges from about the month of December to May. Females can lay several clutches per season with up to thirty five eggs per clutch. The hatchlings emerge about 69 to 123 days after the eggs have been deposited.
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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.