Identifying Turtles in posts

Grad student in a turtle lab. Gonna use this to brush up on my turtle ID and scientific names lol

[suzannemariephotography54]

Alligator, White Egret with tiny Fish, Young Black Crown Night Heron and Turtles

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[whatsthatturtle]

Stunning photos! Hope you don't mind me identifying those lovely turtles...

Turtles:

Far left: Northern Red-Bellied Cooter (Pseudemys rubriventris)

Farthest from camera: Red Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Legs out: unsure, likely an older individual from either species, they sometimes lose their stripes and become melanistic as they age.

Fun fact: Some male P. rubriventris develop reticulated melanism as they age, resulting in a stunning red and black marbled pattern!

More about P. rubriventris here

[shithowdy]

today's walk took an unexpected turn when we had to rescue 45 (!!!) snapping turtle hatchlings from the road by the park. while not many of a clutch are meant to survive, the nissan rogue is not a natural predator so today they got a little help. ❤️

[whatsthatturtle]

These guys have already been correctly identified but I want to share this vid anyways because baby snappers are so so cute... I also have a fun fact!

Scientific name: Chelydra serpentina

Fun fact: Snapping turtle hatchlings talk to each other both before and after they hatch--thats right, they are vocalizing to each other even while they're still in their eggs!! This communication appears to have some importance to them regarding their hatching, though the specifics are still unclear. Read more here!

[cristalplanetheart]

[whatsthatturtle]

Scientific name: Trachemys scripta scripta

Common name: Yellow-Bellied Slider

Sex: Female

Fun fact: Turtles seem to do this to warm up faster/absorb more heat! As ectotherms, turtles do not generate their own body heat-- maximizing the surface area that is exposed to the sun while basking allows them to warm more rapidly.

[geekysteven]

[turttastic]

Scientific name: Terrapene carolina

Fun fact: Despite its mostly terrestrial lifestyle, T. carolina is a turtle, not a tortoise! Tortoises all belong to family Testudinidae, while T. carolina belongs to family Emydidae-- this means it is in the same family, and thus more closely related to mostly-aquatic turtles such as map turtles, than it is to tortoises!

Common name: Eastern Box Turtle

Read more about turtle biodiversity and see a full phylogeny here!

[whatsthatturtle]

Wrong blog moment, reposting my id here

[ruinedchildhood]

[eldritch-sanctum]

The bird experiences some of the same problems that humans who fish do (unwanted animal getting bait, bad location and patience) and manages them.

[very-gay-alkyrion]

@identifying-birds-in-postss @identifying-birds Why is this bird so neck

[identifying-birds-in-postss]

Butorides sp., likely either striated heron, Butorides striata, or green heron, Butorides virescens!

while i only have personal experience with the green heron, these two species are very closely related, and yeah they're just Like That. the actual evolutionary reason is probably related to the ability to shoot their head pretty far out to have more area available to fish, especially when they're perched on a branch or stump just outside of the water, which they do a lot.

image source

they have some interesting muscle and tendon structure in their necks that lets them dart their necks out and back in extremely fast so that they have the element of surprise. they also use their long necks to appear larger/more intimidating when scaring off predators or competitors, and to see over the tops of aquatic plants.

image source

fun fact, when their neck is tucked in it's not getting pulled into the body or anything, it's still just as long but bent into a tight S curve that looks like a continuation of the body because of the way the feathers sit! (you can see it well in the above picture - the reddish neck feathers look like part of the body in the first part.) also, their trachea (throat) can move around in funny ways so that they can bend their necks so sharply without cutting off breathing.

image source

[identifying-birds-in-postss]

(tags by @sabrestupid)

yep!! this behavior is called baiting, and while it's been observed in multiple heron species, it's most commonly seen in green herons. here's an excerpt from birds of the world about it (emphasis mine):

Green Herons bait for fish (Figure 2) with variety of baits and lures, e.g., crusts of bread (Lovell 1958), mayflies (Keenan III 1981), and feathers (by an immature bird; Norris 1975). For B. striatus in Japan, Higuchi (Higuchi 1986, Higuchi 1988) reported that they bait fish more frequently in open water with few suitable perches. Three of these Japanese birds used lure bait (twigs, leaves, berries) 80% of time, live bait (flies and other insects) 20%. One bird spent 84% of foraging time baiting for fish; other birds used feathers and plastic foam for bait. Success rate highest when live bait used; juvenile birds did poorly baiting. One bird dug earthworms from mud and used them as bait, and twice birds broke pieces of stick to make bait, an example of tool-making. Baiting behavior rare among other herons.

this behavior has also been documented in striated herons, though less extensively. here's a video of one using some bits of foam(?) to successfully lure in and catch a fish!

and here's a few videos of baiting behavior in green herons

[identifying-birds-in-postss]

a few birds I missed in the initial video

the duck at the beginning: Muscovy duck, Cairina moschata. could be escaped domestic or wild depending on the location.

other bird at the end: Ardea sp., likely great egret, Ardea alba

unfortunately i can't identify the bird that flies off the shore in the background at the start of the video or the one that called in the background audio :(

@i-identify-turtles @whatsthatturtle @identifying-fish-in-posts @identifying-fish-in-photos @potentiallyfishin thoughts on the turtles and fish?

[whatsthatturtle]

Hmmm I've narrowed the turtle species down to something in Phrynops, a genus of side-necked turtles. There's 4 species of Phrynops, all native to South America, all possessing those big barbels on the lower jaw. My best guess is either Phrynops williamsi or Phrynops geoffroanus. The patterns on the shell look more like P. williamsi, but the turtle in the video has an awfully wide head for P. williamsi... so potentially P. geoffroanus?

P. geoffroanus:

P. williamsi:

I'm not too familiar with sideneck species so I had fun figuring this out!

[jiksvokrat]

the new electricians are looking a bit weird

[whatsthatturtle]

Scientific name: Testudo graeca

Common name: Greek Tortoise

Fun fact: Despite their name, this species' native range is not restricted to Greece alone-- in fact, Northern Africa and Southwest Asia make up much more of their range than Greece does.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Accidentally caught this lad while electrofishing today. A map turtle, not sure exactly what species. I released it after taking these photos

(Images: two pictures of a small turtle with a notable ridge on its shell being held in hand.)

[whatsthatturtle]

Uncertain

Scientific name: Graptemys ouachitensis OR Graptemys pseudogeographica

Common name: Ouachita Map Turtle OR False Map Turtle

Fun fact: Graptemys ouachitensis and Graptemys pseudogeographica share much of their range, and G. ouachitensis was previously thought to be a subspecies of G. pseudogeographica, so much of their historical records are intermingled. However, I think this turtle is more likely to be G. ouachitensis due to the presence of white eyes bisected by a black bar. While this trait can present in G. pseudogeographica as well, there is more variability-- G. pseudogeographica has a wider range of eye colors, and may or may not possess the dark bisecting line.

(1st pic, Graptemys ouachitensis, 2nd pic, Graptemys pseudogeographica)

[xanaxfarts]

Butterflies feeding off the tears of turtles in the Amazon. This is uncommon for the butterflies as minerals such as salt can be scarce in certain regions, so the turtles salty tears give the butterflies the nutrients they need for survival. Photog. Jeff Cremer

[whatsthatturtle]

Scientific name: Podocnemis expansa

Common name: Arrau river turtle/Giant South American river turtle

Fun fact: Female Podocnemis expansa aggregate near their nesting sites as they wait for their offspring to hatch. When the hatchlings begin to emerge, the females will call to them, guiding them towards the water. This is one of the few recorded examples of paternal care in turtles to date.

[catchymemes]

Via: leanne.rooks/tt

[whatsthatturtle]

Scientific name: Stigmochelys pardalis

Common name: Leopard tortoise

Fun fact: Despite the small size of this baby, leopard tortoises can grow up to 18 inches long as adults! Always familiarize yourself with the size and housing requirements of adults before purchasing and turtle or tortoise as a pet!

https://leopardtortoises.com/leopard-tortoise-growth-rates/

[agarbagebagofhumanteeth]

Let's sunbathe with mama

[whatsthatturtle]

Scientific name: Chrysemys picta marginata

Common name: Midland painted turtle

Fun fact: Chrysemys picta hatchings frequently overwinter in their natal nests, where they endure subzero temperatures, maintaining a supercooled state instead of freezing

[beardedmrbean]

[whatsthatturtle]

Scientific name: Trachemys scripta (elegans?)

Common name: Red-eared slider

Fun fact: Native to the midwest and southern united states, this species of turtle is now one of the most invasive species in the world, and has been found on all continents other than the arctic and antarctic.

[whatsthatturtle]

Turtles...