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Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta belli)

Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta belli)

Description:

• 10 - 25 cm
• smooth, olive green carapace, the outer edges patterned with red lines
• head, neck and tail are striped with yellow lines
• distinguishable from C. p. marginata by the presence of an intricate branching pattern on the plastron

Habitat:

• slow moving rivers, ponds and marshes with soft bottoms and half submerged logs for basking
• ranges north and west of Lake Superior to the Manitoba border

Conservation concerns, distribution and status:

• locally common but restricted to northwestern Ontario

Potential climatic domain map

(27 observations in ONHIC database; 23 observations used in analysis)