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Turtle S.H.E.L.L. Tortue
a registered Canadian charitable organization dedicated to turtles
Safety Habitat Education Long Life
Web page by CompuFix
BLANDING'S
TURTLE QUIZ
By Bill Bower
The hinged yellow plastron of the Blanding's turtle is covered in quite large black blotches symmetrically arranged. Each turtle has a different pattern of blotches (sort of like a fingerprint) making it fairly easy, by viewing photographs, to determine if a particular specimen has been encountered before. This poster contains ten plastron photos of eight separate specimens. One particular specimen was observed and photographed on three separate occasions covering more than a ten year period. Can you identify the three photos of the same turtle? You can check your answer at the bottom of this page.
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BLANDING'S
TURTLE
The Blanding's turtle is one of the eight native Ontario turtles and is found mainly in the southern part of the province. This shy turtle is easily identified by its smooth helmet-shaped carapace which is covered with a multitude of small yellow dots. It has a relatively long neck and the groin and throat are bright yellow. The head is flat with protruding eyes. (see photo of adult male Blanding's turtle to right). Adults can measure up to 28 cm in carapace length. Little is known about the hatchlings or juveniles. A Blanding's turtle doesn't breed until it reaches fourteen to twenty years of age. Females often travel several kilometers overland in the spring as they seek out suitable nesting areas. Each nest contains about 8 oval dull-white eggs. |
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Turtle S.H.E.L.L. Tortue thanks
everyone that tried the Quiz.