New World Pond Turtles: Emydidae - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Conservation Status, Painted Turtle (chrysemys Picta): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, NEW WORLD POND TURTLES AND PEOPLE
Members of this family live in North and South America, Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa.
New World pond turtles may live in tropical areas, where it feels like summer all year, or in cooler areas that have all four seasons, including winter. These cooler areas are known as "temperate climates." Many turtles spend almost their entire lives in or near ponds, lakes, and other freshwater areas, though some can live quite well in saltier waters. Other species live their lives mainly on land.
Depending on the species, New World pond turtles may eat meat, plants, or a combination of meat and plants. Sometimes, baby turtles begin their lives as meat eaters but start to munch plants as they grow older. The meat eaters may dine on such animals as fishes, tadpoles, insects, worms, and slugs. Turtles that eat plants prefer grasses, flowers, and berries. They also eat algae (AL-jee), or tiny plantlike growths that live in water.
People enjoy seeing turtles in the wild, but the numbers of many New World pond turtles are dropping. People once collected and killed these turtles to eat their meat. While that practice is not as common anymore, turtles still face threats from too much collecting for the pet trade or from car traffic on roads they cross to reach a pond, nesting site, or other area.
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The New World pond turtles come in many shapes and sizes. Adult small bog turtles have upper shells, or carapaces (KARE-a-pays), that grow to about 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) in length, while the carapaces of the large Gray's sliders can reach a length of 2 feet (61 centimeters) or more. Most pond turtles have a least a little webbing between their toes. The males and females look very muc…
Many people have seen these turtles, because most of the animals in this family like to sunbathe, or "bask." Turtles that live in the water typically climb up onto a rock or log sticking up above the water's surface and soak in the sunshine. Often, many turtles will climb onto the same rock or log and may stack up on one another. Turtles that live on land simply find a sunny s…
According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), six New World pond turtles are Endangered, meaning that they face a very high risk of extinction in the wild. Seven species are Vulnerable, meaning that there is a high risk that they will become extinct in the wild, and fourteen are Near Threatened, meaning that they are at risk of becoming threatened with extinction in the future. The U.S. Fish a…
Physical characteristics: The painted turtle is a medium-sized turtle that is mostly olive or black on the legs, head, neck, and upper shell. Adults can grow to 3.5–10 inches (9–26 centimeters). The head has yellow stripes, and there are both red and yellow stripes on the neck and legs and red striping around the edge of the upper shell, the carapace. The bottom shell, or plastron (P…
Physical characteristics: The eastern box turtle is a small- to medium-sized turtle with a rounded upper shell. The adult's lower shell has two hinges. When the turtle is frightened, it can pull its head, legs, and tail into the shell and use the hinges to close up the lower shell. The carapace is black with a pattern of short yellow stripes. Males have red eyes, a longer and thicker tail t…
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