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Louisiana Mud Turtle
- Colouration
- Upper shell dull olive, the margins of the larger shields narrowly margined with black. Plastron dull yellow.
- Dimensions
- The measurements given do not equal the maximum size attained, but illustrate the general proportions of the shell:
- Distribution
- The exact range of this species is not well known. It has been given as Louisiana, from which state, all of the writer's specimens have been received. In Louisiana this species appears to take the place of the C. pennsylvanicum. It is very probable that further investigation will demonstrate this species to occur over a considerable area of the southern Mississippi Valley, and westward, well into Texas.
This turtle is most nearly allied to C. pennsylvanicum, but may be recognised by its more elongated shell and pronounced markings of the head--arranged in bands.
The head is strikingly marked and in a fashion that causes the species to differ from all the others of the genus. Beginning at the snout and extending over the eye is a vivid, orange-yellow stripe, which widens and becomes broken at the rear portion of the head, thence continues on the neck as an orange blotch or band. Beginning at the angle of the jaw is a broader stripe of the same colour, running back to the neck.
Length of Carapace . . . . . 3 3/4 inches.
Width of Carapace . . . . . 2 1/2 inches.
Length of Plastron . . . . . 3 3/8 inches.
Width, Front Lobe, at Hinge . . . . . 1 3/4 inches.
Width, Rear Lobe, at Hinge . . . . . 1 5/8 inches.