The turtle, he is an elusive creature. Hidden well in the water. He is also hidden well in his shell. The shell alone provokes our childlike curiosity to see whats inside, to explore. The more we learn about them the more questions we have. How do they live, how do the reproduce, how do they as cold blooded reptiles survive the winter, and many other mysteries. Science has begun to solve some of these problems, but new problems appear every day. Turtles are very interesting animals. One of the most fascinating species of turtles is the Painted turtle. The Painted turtle is a reptile that lives mainly in north America. It can also be found in Nova Scotia. The species is divided into four subspecies each with their own distinct location. Chyrsemys picta picta (Eastern Painted turtle) located mostly between the Atlantic ocean and the Appalachian mountains. Chyrsemys picta marginata (Midland Painted turtles) located mostly in the great lakes, Ohio valley and all the way down to northern Alabama. Chyrsemys picta dorsalis (Southern Painted turtles) who live dependent on the Mississippi from southern Illinois to the gulf of Mexico. The last subspecies is Chyrsemys picta belli, the Western Painted turtle. These are the painted turtles that live here in Nebraska. They have the largest range of any of the painted turtle species, spanning from the Mississippi all the way to Washington and British Colombia (Dawson, 1998). Painted turtles can generally be distinguished from other turtles by several identifying characteristics. They have a smooth flattened carapace (top shell) that can be brown, olive or black. The carapace can have light yellow or orange lines. The Painted turtles plastron (lower shell) can be creme, yellow or tan. They resemble red eared sliders because they have lines on their head and neck. A Painted turtle however has yellow streaks on the face and red on the neck while a slider has red on the face. Also, females of ...
