Spiny Softshell Turtles
The Spiny Softshell turtle is only found throughout the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The top shell of these turtles lacks scutes and is covered instead with a leathery skin. The bottom shell is covered by skin. This skin usually has a sandpaper-like texture and is tough and leathery. Superficially, softshells can be distinguished by their leathery shells, and elongate snout. Adults range from 7-21 inches in females, and 5-9 inches in males. Spiny softshells generally lay clutches of 12-18 round, brittle eggs in the early summer. It is thought that females may lay multiple clutches per season. Nests are generally located close to water, often on sand or gravel bars or in people’s yards. Young emerge about 80 days later, and are usually 1-1.5 inches across. The Softshell turtles are most closely related to the pig-nosed turtles. These turtles date all the way back to the Jurassic period. The eastern Spiny Softshell is listed as a Species of Special Concern by the state of North Carolina.
The Spiny Softshell turtle is only found throughout the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The top shell of these turtles lacks scutes and is covered instead with a leathery skin. The bottom shell is covered by skin. This skin usually has a sandpaper-like texture and is tough and leathery. Superficially, softshells can be distinguished by their leathery shells, and elongate snout. Adults range from 7-21 inches in females, and 5-9 inches in males. Spiny softshells generally lay clutches of 12-18 round, brittle eggs in the early summer. It is thought that females may lay multiple clutches per season. Nests are generally located close to water, often on sand or gravel bars or in people’s yards. Young emerge about 80 days later, and are usually 1-1.5 inches across. The Softshell turtles are most closely related to the pig-nosed turtles. These turtles date all the way back to the Jurassic period. The eastern Spiny Softshell is listed as a Species of Special Concern by the state of North Carolina.
River Turtles
River turtles are found in the Piedmont and some parts of the Coastal Plains. This turtle can be distinguished from the slider by its significantly more flattened and flared shell and by its flat chin (which is usually rounded in sliders). Also, the bottom of the shell is usually heavily marked with black and yellow, and head markings are usually less prominent than in the slider. Adults are between 9 and 13 inches length on their top shells. River Cooters are herbivorous and feed upon aquatic plants. River Cooters are conspicuous basking turtles. They bask on exposed logs and rocks, and quickly enter the water when approached. River Cooters are found in rivers and large streams throughout the Piedmont and Coastal Plains. In eastern North Carolina along the coast, it has been found that River Cooters have been known to hybridize with Florida Cooters.
River turtles are found in the Piedmont and some parts of the Coastal Plains. This turtle can be distinguished from the slider by its significantly more flattened and flared shell and by its flat chin (which is usually rounded in sliders). Also, the bottom of the shell is usually heavily marked with black and yellow, and head markings are usually less prominent than in the slider. Adults are between 9 and 13 inches length on their top shells. River Cooters are herbivorous and feed upon aquatic plants. River Cooters are conspicuous basking turtles. They bask on exposed logs and rocks, and quickly enter the water when approached. River Cooters are found in rivers and large streams throughout the Piedmont and Coastal Plains. In eastern North Carolina along the coast, it has been found that River Cooters have been known to hybridize with Florida Cooters.
The Florida Cooter
The Florida Cooter is found throughout parts of the Piedmont and the Coastal Plains. It is a large turtle with very similar physical characteristics to the River Cooter. These include a dark top shell with a light colored bottom, striped head and neck, and a concentrically patterned shell. On younger Florida Cooters concentric markings on its shell are usually visible.
Adults are between 9 and 13 inches in top shell length. Basking is the most prominent behavior of the Florida Cooter. Florida Cooters are normally found in still water, such as wetlands, marshes, and ponds. The Florida Cooter is mostly herbivorous and feeds primarily on aquatic vegetation.
The clutches of the Florida Cooter contain between 12 and 20 eggs and are laid during early summer. The Florida Cooter has been known to hybridize with the River Cooter, and to a lesser extent, the Redbelly Turtle.
The
Eastern Mud Turtle
Eastern Mud Turtles are found in all of the Coastal Plains and parts of the Piedmont in North Carolina. This is a small turtle with a smooth, unmarked top shell, which ranges in coloration from olive to dark brown. The bottom of the shell is double-hinged and can be yellow or brown. Adults range from 3 to 5 inches in top shell length. Eastern Mud Turtles are semi-aquatic. They are not strong swimmers and usually crawl along the bottom. They are more terrestrial than their relatives, the musk turtles, and hibernate in forests buried an inch or two below the surface. Eastern Mud Turtles prefer shallow and sluggish bodies of water. They are able to tolerate brackish water and are sometimes encountered in salt marshes. Eastern mud turtles are omnivorous. They are known to feed on crustaceans (such as crayfish), mollusks, aquatic insects, and seeds. Mud turtles lay between 2 and 5 eggs during June or July. Eastern Mud Turtle eggs are hard shelled and do not absorb water like most turtle eggs. The young hatch in August or September. Hatchling Mud Turtles are often mistaken for Snapping Turtles. An easy way to tell the two apart is a mud turtle has a larger, hinged bottom shell and snapping turtle hatchlings have a very small bottom shell and a long tail.
Eastern Mud Turtles are found in all of the Coastal Plains and parts of the Piedmont in North Carolina. This is a small turtle with a smooth, unmarked top shell, which ranges in coloration from olive to dark brown. The bottom of the shell is double-hinged and can be yellow or brown. Adults range from 3 to 5 inches in top shell length. Eastern Mud Turtles are semi-aquatic. They are not strong swimmers and usually crawl along the bottom. They are more terrestrial than their relatives, the musk turtles, and hibernate in forests buried an inch or two below the surface. Eastern Mud Turtles prefer shallow and sluggish bodies of water. They are able to tolerate brackish water and are sometimes encountered in salt marshes. Eastern mud turtles are omnivorous. They are known to feed on crustaceans (such as crayfish), mollusks, aquatic insects, and seeds. Mud turtles lay between 2 and 5 eggs during June or July. Eastern Mud Turtle eggs are hard shelled and do not absorb water like most turtle eggs. The young hatch in August or September. Hatchling Mud Turtles are often mistaken for Snapping Turtles. An easy way to tell the two apart is a mud turtle has a larger, hinged bottom shell and snapping turtle hatchlings have a very small bottom shell and a long tail.