Hey Dave,

What you have is not a Map turtle. I can see what would make you think that...the jagged rear shell and well developed medial keel. Plus, the turtle is completely melanistic outside of the plastron, which confuses identification. Overall, structurally, this appears to be a slider (Trachemys scripta ssp.). Yellowbelly sliders range very close to Ocala, so it is a possibility. It is also possible that it is an introduced Red-eared slider. They are everywhere! In fact, it could be an intergrade of Yellowbelly/Red-ear. These two subspecies are nearly identical, and are typically only differentiated by color (impossible with this turtle). Both almost always become very dark with age, especially males.

Another possibility is that it is a Florida Redbelly(Pseudemys nelsoni). They can also become darkened with age. However, structurally, the head appears too large in relation to the shell. Also, they don't usually get that well developed keel. There are some head characterisitcs that could determine whether it is a Trachemys or Pseudemys. Trachemys typically have a "rounded" lower jaw, while Pseudemys have a "flattened" lower jaw. This is clear when looking straight at the turtles head, face to face.

Hope this helps.

You aren't the only one who had posts removed. A week's worth of Box turtle posts were temporarily removed, as well as some other scattered posts. Apparently, it was a temporary gliche.

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