Reptile Identification Contest #3: Answer Revealed!
A big thanks to all those who took part in yesterday's third Reptile Identification Contest and another congratulations to @doctorcrypto for the successful identification!
So, were YOU able to identify the mystery reptile?
The answer is... Glyptemys insculpta, the Wood Turtle!
Despite the appearance of her legs that look similar to a land dwelling tortoise, the wood turtle is actually a primarily aquatic species (this was meant to be a tricky one and we had a lot of well educated guesses!). Native to North America, the wood turtle has a broad range from Nova Scotia in the north to Virginia in the south, and expands as far west as Minnesota. As already stated, unlike most aquatic turtles that bear webbed feet designed for swimming, the wood turtle is morphologically similar to the bog turtle and spotted turtle; they have club-like feet reminiscent of terrestrial species. While they can swim moderately well, they are better adapted to walking and hunting along the bottom of the water. It is rarely seen more than 100 meters from clear, shallow flowing water.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this turtle is how it hunts for its favorite prey: earthworms. Most turtles are fairly unintelligent animals; I love them to death, but they really don't have a lot going on upstairs. However, the wood turtle is actually surprisingly intelligent for a turtle species, and has adopted a rather unique approach to attracting prey. Rather than just roam endlessly looking for worms, the wood turtle brings the worms to her; she rhythmically stomps on the ground with her front feet and after a few moments a worm sometimes appears. This behavior has baffled herpetologists for some time, but is now believed to be a means for the turtle to simulate the sound of raindrops hitting the ground, attracting the worms to the surface!
The wood turtle pictured for the contest is a young female who was surrendered to our exhibit in 2013 by a rehabilitator. Born in the wild, she had suffered severe injuries from a predator, most likely a raccoon or opossum, that had resulted in the loss of one foot and multiple toes from the other feet. She quickly recovered to full health, but was deemed non-releasable because her disabilities would make her easy prey for predators. Surrendered to us, she was put on exhibit in our James River Exhibit (no, there aren't really any wood turtle in the James) and has been a happy healthy turtle delighting guests for years. Despite her obvious handicap, she is still a very capable swimmer and lovers chasing small fish and worms around her home!
Again, thank you to everyone who participated in the contest (and congrats again to our winner)! If you missed the contest or wish to participate in future contests to earn valuable steem (or just learn a little more about identifying cool reptiles and amphibians) give me a follow; I'll be trying to post contests more frequently as long as interest remains high!
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Thanks all. That was really fun!
i thought it was a terrapin carolina, the eastern box turtle 😉
Based on the foot and the visible colors that is definitely a good guess!
Ahhh it was the wood turtle! I passed up on that turt so many times cause of the hiding orange! I was hittin some waaay too obscure websites in my search hehe
Lol I admit this was the toughest one yet! I chose it because I knew the weird foot and vibrant colors would throw people off
I still think the Cryptodira would have been more fitting ;) Cheers and congrats to the winner @doctorcrypto !
Lol I wish I had thought of the connection to the cryptocurrency theme. Oh well, there are a whole bunch of "crypto" reptile and amphibians out there! Who knows what will turn up in future contests!
Haha yess I will have to keep my eye out ;) Have a great day and thanks for the opportunity to compete in the contest!
Great pictures with turtles. I also recently washed seven turtles from a swamp. If you want, check out my post.