Carolina box turtle

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Carolina box turtle
Carolina box turtle of the subspecies Terrapene carolina carolina

Carolina box turtle of the subspecies Terrapene carolina carolina

Systematics
Order : Turtles (Testudinata)
Subordination : Halsberger tortoises (Cryptodira)
Family : New World pond turtles (Emydidae)
Subfamily : Emydinae
Genre : Box turtles ( terrapene )
Type : Carolina box turtle
Scientific name
Terrapene carolina
( Linnaeus , 1758)
Carolina box turtle of the subspecies Terrapene carolina carolina
Carolina box turtle of the subspecies Terrapene carolina carolina with closed shell
Florida box turtle ( Terrapene carolina bauri )
Three-toed box turtle ( Terrapene mexicana triunguis ) previously Terrapene carolina triunguis

The common box turtle , also Common Terrapin ( Terrapene Carolina ) is a turtle from the kind of box turtles . It belongs to the North American species, whose distribution extends over the east and the middle of the USA to the southwest. It has also been kept as a terrarium animal for more than a hundred years.

Appearance

The Carolina box turtle has a carapace length of 10 to 20 centimeters , depending on the subspecies . The back armor is always clearly bulged. The color of the armor on the back is very variable. Depending on the subspecies, it has a yellowish to orange-colored pattern of spots and stripes. The belly armor, on the other hand, is monochrome and either brownish or dark.

The males can be distinguished from the females by the color of their eyes. Males have a showy red iris while those of the females are yellowish brown. The sexes also differ in the extremities. The hind foot claws of the males are only slightly curved and relatively short. The females have the longer, slimmer and straighter hind foot claws.

Like all box turtles, the Carolina box turtle has a special locking mechanism on its shell. In the event of danger, she can fold her abdominal armor in front and back using a cross joint. All soft tissues are thus protected - because of this special protective mechanism, the genus is called box turtle. However, this folding mechanism does not yet work with newly hatched young animals.

Way of life

It prefers moist habitats such as meadows, alluvial land or damp forests. In the morning, especially after a rain, it is very active and looks for slugs, worms, mushrooms or berries. The Carolina box turtle is an omnivore . To escape the heat, she hides in the mud at noon and in midsummer. In the cold months she falls into a freeze . Some individuals can be found near water, or even in the shallow water zone of ditches and slow-flowing streams, however the Carolina box turtle is a poor swimmer.

Reproduction

The Carolina tortoise mates from spring through fall. However, the females usually lay the eggs between May and July. You create up to four clutches. A clutch comprises between two and six eggs. When the young hatch depends on the ambient temperature and the area of ​​distribution. Some young animals hatch after 2 months, other young animals only after 4.5 months.

After mating, the females can lay fertilized eggs for several years. The main enemies of the young are various mammals, such as raccoons and birds of prey.

Systematics

From Terrapene carolina six subspecies are described. In 2013 the subspecies Terrapene carolina mexicana , Terrapene carolina triunguis and Terrapene carolina yucatana of a new separate species Terrapene mexicana (Gray, 1849) were created by Martin et al. assigned.

proof

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rogner, p. 71
  2. ^ Fritz Uwe, Peter Havas: Checklist of the Chelonians of the World. 2007. (PDF; 925 kB) compiled on behalf of CITES
  3. ↑ Bradley T. Martin, Neil P. Bernstein, Roger D. Birkhead, Jim F. Koukl, Steven M. Mussmann, John S. Placyk Jr .: Sequence-based molecular phylogenetics and phylogeography of the American box turtles (Terrapene spp.) with support from DNA barcoding . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 68 (1), 2013, pp. 119-134 ( [1] ; PDF; 2036 kB), accessed on April 3, 2015

literature

  • Manfred Rogner: Tortoises - biology, keeping, reproduction , Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5440-1

Web links

Commons : Carolina Box Turtle ( Terrapene carolina )  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files