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Blanding's Turtle
- Colouration
- Upper shell black, with numerous pale yellow or whitish spots. The plastron is yellow in the centre, with large black blotches about the pale area.
- Dimensions
- Following are the measurements of a mature specimen, from North Judson, Indiana:
- Distribution
- Blanding's Turtle appears to attain a centre of abundance in Indiana, thence it occurs in lesser numbers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and on the north shores of the Great Lakes in Canada. Eastward of the Central States it is a comparatively rare species though the range extends into the Alleghanean region and northeastward through Pennsylvania and New York, into Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The species does not occur near the coast regions of New York, Connecticut or New Jersey.
- Habits
- Although fully as agile in the water--in swimming, diving and remaining a considerable time beneath the surface--as the typical pond and river turtles and terrapin, this species often evinces a desire to wander about on land, and while it seldom ventures from wet, marshy areas, prowls about through the undergrowth in search of tender shoots, berries and insect larvae, a character quite in opposition to the feeding habits of the strictly aquatic turtles and terrapins, which are unable to feed unless under water. Blanding's Turtle feeds with equal readiness upon the ground, or under water. Captive specimens are very fond of lettuce; they also feed voraciously upon earth-worms, small fishes, tadpoles and young frogs, actively pursuing these creature in the water and seizing them by a sudden dart of the head. Well fattened specimens are unable to employ the hinged plastron to but a slight extent and with such individuals the rear lobe is quite useless in covering the hind limbs which bulge from the shell in helpless fashion.
The shape of the upper shell is higher (globular) and longer than with the other water turtles. Except with very young specimens the shell is smooth. The general structure of the plastron is much like that of the typical box turtles, although the rear half closes but partially and is bluntly notched. Both front and hind feet are broadly webbed, as with the typical pond turtles. The head is cylindrical, with sharply notched upper mandible, and the neck is very long.
Above, the head is black, with many yellow dots. The chin and throat are bright, immaculate yellow.
Length of Carapace. . . . . 7 7/8 inches.
Width of Carapace. . . . .5 inches.
Length of Plastron. . . . .7 1/2 inches.
Length of Front Lobe. . . . .3 1/4 inches.
Width at Hinge. . . . .4 inches.
Height of Combined Shell. . . . .2 7/8 inches.
The species is very timid and if handled will withdraw the head and front limbs within the shell, close the front lobe of the plastron and remain in this position for an indefinite period--frequently for several hours. On one occasion the writer procured several hundred specimens with which he stocked a small pond. Floating in this pond were several logs and upon these the turtles were in the habit of crawling in rows and clusters, for a sun bath. The slightest alarm would cause them to plunge in a volley into the water, from which, a few minutes later, their heads would be protruded in a fashion that caused the pond to look as if it were infested with water snakes--the turtles' shells being invisible.
The Box Turtles--Genus Cistudo: The six alleged species of this genus are so closely related that further investigations of more elaborate series of specimens than are now possessed by our museums, will probably result in the contraction of the genus to but three or four species, and several varieties or subspecies. Although some of the forms possess four claws on the hind foot and others have but three claws, this structural difference does not appear to be of great importance, for more pronounced characters cause the species to arrange themselves in technical classification so that the four-clawed and three-clawed forms alternate in the list. Of the series, the Painted Box Turtle, (C. ornata), is a perfectly distinct species, as the shell is quite flat in the area of the central shields and there is no trace of a keel. It is very probable that the Three-toed Box Turtle (C. triunguis) will be found to be but a variety of the common species, C. carolina, which possesses four claws on the hind foot, and that Baur's Box Turtle (C. bauri), another three-toed form, may be decided to constitute a variety of the Large Box Turtle (C. major), which also possesses four claws. The Mexican species, C. mexicana, may also be but a Southern form of the C. major.
To set forth the characters of the Box Turtles and popularise the descriptions, the writer provisionally describes the five North American forms as species, arranging them as in the key in an effort to facilitate the work of the less advanced student.