This one is much bigger than the one I saw last week. At least 12 inches long carapace (more pictures under the fold). What's the species?
Search
Profile
My scientific specialty is chronobiology (circadian rhythms and photoperiodism), with additional interests in comparative physiology, animal behavior and evolution. I am not an MD so I cannot diagnose and treat your sleep problems. As well as writing this blog, I am also the Online Discussion Expert for PLoS. This is a personal blog and opinions within it in no way reflect the policies of PLoS. You can contact me at: Coturnix@gmail.com
Buy the 2009 Science Blogging Anthology:
Buy the 2008 Science Blogging Anthology:
Buy the 2007 Science Blogging Anthology:
Buy the 2006 Science Blogging Anthology:
Recent Posts
- New URL for this blog
- New URL/feed for A Blog Around The Clock
- A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- Open Laboratory 2010 - submissions so far
- Clock Quotes
- Clock Quotes
- Clock Quotes
- Clock Quotes
- New and Exciting in PLoS this week
- ScienceOnline2010 - interview with Anne Frances Johnson
Recent Comments
- wildanr on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- yogi-one on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- Alvaro on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- Chris Surridge on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- Claudia Koltzenburg on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- Joerg Kurt Wegner on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- Peter McGrath on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- Sandra Porter on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- cfeagans on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
- Barn Owl on A Farewell to Scienceblogs: the Changing Science Blogging Ecosystem
Archives
- July 2011
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
Blogroll
Find me on...
Make Me Happy
Add Scienceblogs to your Technorati Favorites!
Make Me Solvent
I Support
Bloggie Stuff
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
« The Open Laboratory 2009 - the submissions so far | Main | Clock Quotes »
Turtle in front of my house
Category: A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
Posted on: June 7, 2009 2:19 PM, by Coturnix
Find more posts in: 
Life Science
Life ScienceTrackBacks
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/111825
Comments
Looks like a box turtle (terrapene carolina bauri) to me, Bora. They can live over 100 years.
Posted by: russ williams | June 7, 2009 3:16 PM
That's a huge-ass motherfucking turtle!!!
Posted by: Comrade PhysioProf | June 7, 2009 4:40 PM
No, not a box turtle. That's a slider of the yellow-bellied variety, Trachemys scripta scripta. Looking for a nice place to nest, no doubt.
Posted by: Sven DiMilo | June 7, 2009 8:04 PM
voting painted turtle -- Bora, next time you want to ID the turtle, turn it over, too!
Posted by: glyon | June 7, 2009 9:43 PM
But this one was biiiig! And already not happy with all of the attention and photography...
Posted by: Coturnix | June 7, 2009 9:44 PM
definitely not a box turtle. Slider of some sort (red ear?)
Posted by: jay | June 8, 2009 9:21 AM
Definately a slider. How very neat, I miss seeing wildlife come tromping through my yard.
Posted by: Omphaloskepsis | June 8, 2009 1:47 PM
My daughter has a red eared slider nearly that big, living in aquarium.
Posted by: bobh | June 8, 2009 4:27 PM
Nice turtle - probably a female at that size! Judging by the stripe on her face and notched rear scutes, I'd guess Trachemys scripta elegans, the red-eared slider. Did it ever stick its head out any further? The red "ear" is a dead give-away.
Posted by: Heather | June 8, 2009 11:29 PM
No, she was camera-shy so did not extend the neck any further out than this.
Posted by: Coturnix | June 8, 2009 11:30 PM
Almost certainly Trachemys scripta subspecies - assuming that you are in North America or one of the many localities of introduction, and given the pattern on the carapace and it's serrated posterior margin, and what head markings are visible... Without a good view of the head and plastron, it is hard to tell which subspecies. The bold pattern on the carapace in such a large individual suggest yellow-bellied to me. Most red-eared that I have seen get much darker with age.
Posted by: chris | June 9, 2009 1:36 PM
North Carolina. It's a yellow-belly. Seriously.
Posted by: Sven DiMilo | June 9, 2009 2:56 PM