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Another request for turtle ID

dpallas Jul 29, 2005 12:49 PM

Found in rural yard surrounded by woods and pasture, southwest Missouri, shell 5 - 6" long, likes strawberries! I've ocassionally noticed a strawberry stem with the berry eaten off at the edge of the bed, with the bird netting pushed down as though something had walked on it. The odd thing was that all the fruit within reach wasn't nibbled or sampled like you'd expect with rodents. After I took the photos, the turtle finished the same berry and lumbered off. It has quite a long neck and was able to reach the berry in the photo easily, thought I saw a red stripe on the neck before he pulled it in. I didn't see any turtles with spots like this at the Missouri Conservation Dept's list of native turtles.

Replies (4)

RobBierman Jul 29, 2005 07:41 PM

Three Toed Box Turtle

dpallas Jul 29, 2005 07:58 PM

Thanks Rob. I thought the shape looked right, but didn't see yellow lines on the shell. I guess that varies. Thanks, again.

casichelydia Jul 29, 2005 11:49 PM

Three-toed box turtles are among the most variable type of turtle in North America. Interestingly, they seem particularly variable both in color and shell shape/texture in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, in the Central Highlands area.

dpallas Jul 30, 2005 12:21 PM

Well, that explains why it looks like there are a half dozen different species of turtles with hinged shells here - there aren't!

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