#testudines

A Western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) basks on a log in San Luis Obispo County, California, USA

Huevember

Chance encounter with a celebrity

Red-Eared Slider? I Hardly Know 'er!

Red-eared sliders, also known as red-eared terrapins or pond sliders (Trachemys scripta) are a species of turtle native to the Mississippi River basin and parts of northern Mexico, particularly around the gulf. They are a quite adaptable species; in the wild they are typically found in wetlands, lakes, and rivers, and have a fairly high salinity tolerance. As one of the more cosmopolitan turtle species, they are more often today seen in artificial ponds and drainage ditches.

Pond sliders are on the larger side, though they are far from the largest turtle species. Adults grow to be about 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in) in shell length and weigh up to 3.2 kg (7.05 lbs), with females on average being larger than males. Other than size and tail length-- males have longer tails--, there is no discernible sexual dimorphism, although colors and patterns may differ between subspecies. Typically both sexes sport ridged dark brown or green shells with a yellow underbelly. The head and limbs are striped green and yellow, and there is a distinctive red stripe behind the eye that gives the red-eared slider its common name.

Red-eared terrapins are active primarily during the day, and as reptiles they are often seen basking on logs or rocks to maintain their internal body temperature, often in large groups, although they are not social outside the mating season. In their native range, courtship takes place between March and July, when males actively seek out females and court by swimming around their chosen mate and fluttering their claws in her face. Mating occurs underwater, and afterwards the female climbs on land and lays a clutch of about 6-11 eggs in a shallow nest. Most females lay only one clutch a year, although they can lay up to 5 in opportune conditions. The eggs take 59–112 days to hatch, and if the outside temperature is too cold the young may overwinter in their nest. In the spring the hatchlings dig themselves out and seek out the nearest body of water; they may have to travel up to 1.6 km (0.3 mi). Individuals reach full maturity at 5-9 years old, and may live up to 40 years in the wild.

As juveniles, red-eared sliders are primarily carnivorous, feeding opportunistically on beetles, spiders, crayfish, tadpoles, fish, clams, freshwater sponges, snails, slugs, small amphibians, and other reptiles. As adults they are more omnivorous, foraging on land and in the water for aquatic plants, flowers, and seeds and algae as well as insects, vertebrates, and carrion. Both adults and juveniles have a large number of predators, including American alligators, opossums, skunks, racoons, foxes, coyotes, otters, gar, catfish, herons, and crows.

Conservation status: The IUCN has classified T. scripta as Least Concern. This species is popular in the pet trade, and has been introduced to parts of the Caribbean, Canada, Australia, Europe, southern Africa, and eastern and southeast Asia. In most areas where it has been introduced, it is considered invasive and has been attributed with the declines of several native species.

Photos

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Mark Johnson

Solnhofia parsonsi was a turtle that lived in the tropical seas covering what is now Europe during the Late Jurassic, about 150-148 million years ago.

Around 20cm long (~8"), it had a long pointed beak and a large triangular head that would have supported powerful jaw muscles, which it may have used to crush hard-shelled invertebrate prey.

Its relatively short limbs are more similar to those of freshwater turtles than the long flippers of oceanic-swimming sea turtles, suggesting Solnhofia was adapted to shallow coastal waters and lagoons rather than the open sea.

Some specimens have considerably shorter tails than others, which may represent the same sort of sexual dimorphism as seen in modern sea turtles – with the longer-tailed individuals being males, and the shorter-tailed ones females.

One fossil's carapace also shows predation tooth marks from a marine crocodilian similar to Dakosaurus.

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