![]() ![]() Nests that are 22-27 degrees C tend to be males, and those above 28 degrees tend to be female. Terrapene carolina exhibit temperature dependent sex determination. Range length 11 to 18 cm 4.33 to 7.09 in.Many of these individuals are so varied that identification as a member of a subspecies is impossible. They have dark skin and plastron as well as four toes on the hind feet.Īlong the borders of the subspecies ranges, there exist populations that are extremely varied due to hybridization between subspecies. They have a dark brown shell that often has no pattern, or a faint pattern similar to that of bauri. major is the largest at about 18 cm x 12 cm in size. They have orange, red, or yellow spots on their head and forelimbs, and males heads are completely red. Their plastron is a lighter yellowish color. They have a tan or olive carapace with darker seams and some vague markings. carolina, or a little longer, but with a more narrow shell. carolina is about 15 cm x 10 cm in size with highly variable orange or yellow markings on their brown carapace. The plastron also has lines, as does the head. bauri is roughly 11cm x 8cm in size with bright yellow markings on their dark brown carapace in the shape of lines. ![]() There is some variation between the different subspecies of box turtles. Females' rear claws are longer, straighter, and more slender, and the posterior lobe of their plastron is flat or slightly convex. Males also have thicker and longer tails. Males are slightly larger on average, the posterior lobe of their plastron is concave, and the claws on their hind legs are short, thick, and curved. Concentric growth furrows can be seen on the carapace, although in some older individuals they become very difficult to see. They have a steep margined, keeled, high-domed, rounded carapace (dorsal part of shell) with variable markings. ( Carr, 1952 Ernst, et al., 1994)Īll Terrapene carolina have a bridgeless, bilobed, hinged plastron (ventral part of shell) that allows box turtles to close their shells almost completely. It is often found near streams and ponds. Terrapene carolina inhabits open woodlands, pastures, and marshy meadows. Very little overlap occurs between the ranges of the subspecies of Terrapene carolina, except for a region in Mississippi and Alabama where T. carolina (common box turtle), covering the largest area, lives from Michigan and Maine on the north, and ranges south to the boundaries of the other subspecies. triunguis (3 toed box turtle) lives in the Mississippi River Valley from northern Missouri southward across southeastern Kansas and eastern Oklahoma into south-central Texas and southeastward across western Tennessee and Georgia to the coastal lowlands. major (Gulf Coast box turtle) ranges from the panhandle of Florida westward along the Gulf Coast to eastern Texas. Terrapene carolina bauri (Florida box turtle) lives on the peninsula of Florida. There are four subspecies of Terrapene carolina in the U.S. Due to its popularity as a household pet, Terrapene carolina is sometimes found far outside its normal geographic range. Exclusively North American, box turtles are found in the eastern United States, ranging from southern Maine to Florida along the East Coast, and west to Michigan, Illinois, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. ![]()
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