Description: The smallest member of Chrysemys, it is smaller than any of the subspecies of C. picta at about 4 to 6 inchers long. Its top stripe is a prominent red, and its bottom shell is tan and spotless or nearly so. Southern painted turtles are distinguished from other sub-species by a red or yellow stripe that runs down the carapace from head to tail.

Habitat: Ponds, marshes, swamps, slowly flowing waters; areas with aquatic vegetation, relatively clear water, basking sites, and a soft bottom.

Range:The southern painted turtle ranges from extreme southern Illinois and Missouri, roughly along the Mississippi River Valley, to the south. In Arkansas, it branches out to the west towards Texas, where it is found in the far northeast part of that state (Caddo Lake region) as well as extreme southeastern Oklahoma (McCurtain County). It is found in much of Louisiana, where it reaches the Gulf of Mexico (in fresh water). Eastward it is found in western Tennessee, northern Mississippi and much of Alabama, including the Gulf Coast city of Mobile. An isolated population in central Texas has been reported but is now believed to be non-native.

Found in these States: AL | AR | CA | FL | KY | LA | MO | MS |

Diet: feed mainly on plants, small animals, such as fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and some carrion. Young painted turtles are mainly carnivorous, acquiring a taste for plants later in life.

Reproduction: Often more than one clutch/year in most of the range. Clutch size averages 4. Hatchlings usually winter in nest (in more northern parts of the range) and emerge in spring. Females are sexually mature in 4 years. Males mature at younger ages.

Status: Southern Painted Turtles are not assessed by IUCN, but the Painted Turtle, of which Southern Painted Turtles were previously named, are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. Their NatureServe Global Conservation Status Rank is G5 (Secure).

Subspecies: None

Taxonomy: The southern painted turtle was formerly considered a subspecies of the more widespread painted turtle (C. picta) as C. picta dorsalis, and its exact status is still debated.

Since the 1950s, the southern painted turtle, alongside the subspecies of C. picta, was generally thought to have originated following geographic isolation as a result of the Quaternary glaciation, with the populations being isolated for too short a time to fully diverge into distinct species. However, David E. Starkey and collaborators advanced a new view of the subspecies in 2003. Based on a study of the mitochondrial DNA, they rejected the glacial development theory and argued that the southern painted turtle should be elevated to a separate species, C. dorsalis, while the other subspecies should be collapsed into one and not differentiated. However, this proposition was largely unrecognized because successful breeding between all subspecies was documented wherever they overlapped. Nevertheless, in 2010, the IUCN recognized both C. dorsalis and C. p. dor as a distinct species, although the TTWG also recognized C. p. dorsalis as a valid name. The TTWG continued to recognize C. dorsalis as a distinct species in their 2021 publication.