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Yellow-bellied Terrapin
- Colouration
- Carapace olive, brown or black, with dull, yellow bands extending downward from the central portion. The illustration of an example under water, clearly delineates these markings.
- Dimensions
- Average length of carapace 10 inches; width, 6 3/4; length of plastron, 9 1/4 inches; height of shell, 3 3/4 inches.
- Distribution
- The range of the Yellow-bellied Terrapin is restricted.
The carapace of this terrapin is the most deeply grooved of any of the species; this rugose characteristic is at once striking, upon a gross examination of the shell. There is a dull keel on the central portion; the rear border is notched. Head rather large.
With the adult, there are practically no narrow, yellow lines on the head, except a single yellow stripe on the crown. Behind the eye is a broad, upright, yellow bar--this, sometimes in the shape of a thick C--occasionally, though rarely, it is seen as a wide band, from the eye to the angle of the mouth; from the tip of the snout to the upper mandible is another yellow bar.
Plastron usually immaculate yellow. Lower marginal shields of carapace yellow; a dark blotch in each.
It occurs from Virginia to Georgia. Holbrook says it does not extend into the interior. He was not aware of its existence two hundred miles from the coast. It lives about pools of stagnant water and in marshes, where specimens may be seen sunning on derelict timber. Large numbers are brought to the Charleston markets, where they are sold at a much lower figure than the diamond-back terrapin--Malacoclemmys palustris.