Terrapene ornata luteola

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Desert Box Turtle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Testudines Family: Emydidae Genus: Terrapene Species: Terrapene ornata Subspecies: Terrapene ornata luteola
Trinomial name
Terrapene ornata luteola Smith and Ramsay, 1952

The Desert Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata luteola) ranges from the Trans-Pecos region of Texas and southeastern Arizona south into Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico where it lives in arid, open prairie areas. It is an omnivore, eating native vegetation, insects, and sometimes carrion.^[1] It lacks the raised keel of the Carolina Terrapins, and its colors are muted for camouflage in the desert. The colors of the mature turtle are lighter and more muted than the colors of the young. Male turtles have red irises. Desert Box Turtles hibernate in the winter, emerging in April to begin searching for a mate. Nesting takes place from May to July. Clutch size ranges from two to eight eggs, and incubation lasts about seventy days.^[2] They can live 25 years or more.

[edit] References

1. ^ Desert Box Turtle. Terrapene ornata luteola. Pima County Species Fact Sheet. http://www.pima.gov/CMO/SDCP/species/fsheets/vuln/dbt.html
2. ^ Desert Box Turtle. Terrapene ornata luteola. Pima County Species Fact Sheet. http://www.pima.gov/CMO/SDCP/species/fsheets/vuln/dbt.html

[edit] External links

• ITIS Standard Report Page
• Information from the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum