wood turtle

Wood turtle is a medium-sized, long-lived turtle. Males eventually attain a larger size than females.

The upper shell (carapace) is low, broad, and 5½″ to 8″ long, rarely up to 9″ long. It is dark grayish-brown or brownish-gray and has a low longitudinal keel. It has the appearance and feel of wood, giving this species its common name. It is composed of hard, overlapping scales (scutes) that have a sculpted appearance, giving this turtle its species name. Each scute is keeled and has a dark central blotch surrounded by concentric, light yellow, annual growth rings. The larger scales also show yellow and dark lines radiating from the center. On some individuals, the scutes are conspicuously keeled and have a flattened pyramidal shape. On older individuals they may be worn smooth.

The lower shell (plastron) is yellowish and has a V-shaped notch near the tail. It is not hinged. Each scute has a large dark blotch on the outer edge, at least at the rear corner. On males the plastron is slightly concave. On females it is flat or slightly convex.

The head is black, occasionally with some light speckling. Males have larger, wider heads than females. The scales on the upper surface of the legs are black or mottled brown. The skin on the chin, throat, and lower surface of the legs is yellowish or yellowish-orange and pale, sometimes with dark speckling. In the eastern United States the coloration is darker and orange, orangish-red, or salmon-red.

The male has a longer, thicker tail than the female.

Carapace length: 5½″ to 8″

Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) adults have a smooth carapace. The plastron is hinged, allowing it to completely close its shell. The chin is bright yellow with no speckling.

Clear rivers and streams with deep pools and hard bottoms adjacent to a forest or woodland.

This turtle is both aquatic and terrestrial. In the spring fall it is found at the edges of rivers and streams. In the summer it spends most of its time on land, often far, though rarely more than 500 feet, from a river or stream.

In October or November it burrows into mud at the bottom of a stream or river where the water will remain unfrozen through the winter.

30 to 42 years, possibly longer

Unlike many other turtles, wood turtles do not bury themselves in mud to overwinter. They require clean flowing water from which they can extract oxygen throughout the winter. As the temperature drops in November, they rest in pools at the bottom of a river or stream, in log jams, under bank overhangs, or other areas where they can be protected from predators and flood surges. They enter into a state of sluggishness, inactivity, and torpor (brumation), similar to hibernation in mammals, that lasts until the following April.

In May or June the female lays a clutch of usually 5 to 13 eggs in a nest she has excavated in a sandy site near moving water. Mortality from predation, mostly by raccoons, is very high and few eggs hatch. Surviving eggs hatch in 47 to 69 days in late August or September. Hatchlings do not overwinter in the nest.

Wood turtles are late maturing, reaching sexual maturity at 14 to 16 years.

Opportunistic omnivore. Mostly plant matter, including berries, leaves. Also mushrooms, insects, mollusks, earthworms, and carrion.

Sources

4, 6, 7, 14, 24, 29, 30, 76, 78.

Wood turtle was formerly classified as Clemmys insculpta.

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)
Andree Reno Sanborn

wood turtle 01
Jun 19, 2024

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)
WisCBMnetwork

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) - June 21, 2012 - Hebron (Amston), Connecticut
Stan Malcolm

Wood Turtle - HD Mini-Documentary
James Knott

North American Wood Turtle
alien6467

Jarek Martineau
6/17/2024

Location: Forbes MN

poor little fella almost got ran over in the parking lot at a popular fishing hole, so I moved him to the edge and let him on his way to the way he was going with less vehicle traffic.

Location: St Louis County