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Western Pond Turtle
- Colouration
- Carapace, dark olive, brown or blackish. Each shield encloses an aggregation of yellow dots or dashes--if the latter these tend to radiate from the centre of the shield.
- Dimensions
- Adult specimens are from six to eight inches long and quite smooth.
- Distribution
- This is the only fresh-water turtle of the Pacific Region--with the exception of a species in Lower California. It occurs commonly in ponds and rivers in Washington, Oregon and California, west of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Mountains.
- Habits
- Similar to the Eastern spotted turtle. It is quite aquatic and very shy; specimens are commonly seen sunning upon logs and rocks but drop into the water at the least alarm. These turtles often take the hooks of fresh-water fishermen.
When fully mature this western species is about eight inches long. The general proportions and structure of the shell appeal to the spotted turtle, (C. guttatus). Young specimens have a single, blunt keel upon the centre of the carapace. This usually disappears altogether with maturity.
The central portion of the shields of the plastron is yellow. These shields are bordered with black, particularly about the margin. The limbs are brown, closely spotted with black--sometimes yellow; the head is similarly marked.