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Midland Painted Turtle
Chrysemys picta marginata
Description
Indiana's most familiar basking turtle, dark-shelled with red-edged margins and a faint smudge on the belly. Often seen stacked on logs in the sun.
Stats
Size
Carapace 4 - 6 inches
Status
Common
Similar Species
Western Painted Turtle, which has a bold branching plastron figure and shell seams aligned in rows.
Diet
Aquatic plants, insects, crayfish, snails, and carrion.
Habitat
Slow, shallow, well-vegetated waters - ponds, marshes, and stream backwaters.
Reproduction
Lays 4-10 eggs in early summer; hatchlings often overwinter in the nest.
Midland Painted Turtle
Midland Painted Turtle
Chrysemys picta marginata
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