Blanding's turtle

Blanding's turtle
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1][2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Emydidae
Subfamily:	Emydinae
Genus:	Emys or Emydoidea[1][3]
Species:	E. blandingii
Binomial name
Emys blandingii or Emydoidea blandingii[1][4] (Holbrook, 1838)[4]
The range of Blanding's turtle
Synonyms[4][5][6]
Testudo flava Lacépède, 1788 (nomen suppressum) Testudo flava — Bonaterre, 1789 (nomen suppressum) Testudo meleagris Shaw, 1793 (nomen suppressum) Cistuda blandingii Holbrook, 1838 (nomen conservandum) Emys blandingii — Strauch, 1862 Emydoidea blandingii — Gray, 1870 Emys twentei Taylor, 1943

Blanding's turtle (Emys blandingii or Emydoidea blandingii )^[1][4] is a semi-aquatic turtle of the family Emydidae. This North American turtle is considered to be an endangered species throughout much of its range.^[7]

Taxonomy

There are differences of opinion as to the genus for this species; both Emys and Emydoidea occur in published sources in 2009, 2010, and 2011.^[1][3]

Etymology

Both the specific name, blandingii, and the common name, Blanding's turtle, are in honor of American naturalist
Dr. William Blanding (1773-1857).^[8]

Description

Blanding's turtle is a medium-sized turtle with an average shell length of approximately 18 to 23 cm (7.1 to 9.1 in) with a maximum of 25.5 cm (10.0 in). A distinguishing feature of this turtle is the bright yellow chin and throat. The carapace, or upper shell, is domed, but slightly flattened along the midline, and is oblong when viewed from above. The carapace is speckled with numerous yellow or light-colored flecks or streaks on a dark background. The plastron, or lower shell, is yellow with dark blotches symmetrically arranged. The head and legs are dark, and usually speckled or mottled with yellow. Blanding's turtle is also called the "semi-box" turtle, for although the plastron is hinged, the plastral lobes do not shut as tight as the box turtle's.

Reproduction

Blanding's turtles take 14–20 years to reach sexual maturity. Mating probably occurs in April and early May with nesting beginning in early June and lasting throughout the month.^[9] The clutch size varies from region to region. In New York, the clutch size ranges from 5–12 eggs with an average of eight.

Behavior and life span

Blanding's turtle overwinters under or near water, in mud or under vegetation or debris. During the nesting season, a female Blanding's turtle may be found more than a kilometer from where it hibernated. It is omnivorous, eating crustaceans and other invertebrates, fish, frogs, crayfish, carrion, berries and vegetable debris. It is capable of catching live fish. Blanding's turtle may live to be 80 years old.

Blanding's turtle is a timid turtle and may plunge into water and remain on the bottom for hours when alarmed. If away from water, the turtle will close itself up within its shell. It is very gentle and rarely attempts to bite. It is very agile and a good swimmer.

Blanding's turtles do not appear to age once they have reached adulthood. When compared to, for example, a 20-year-old turtle, a 70-year-old exhibits negligible senescence, and may, in fact, be "better at scouting out the good nesting places and also produce more progeny".^[10]

Distribution and habitat

This species' range centres on the Great Lakes, and extends from central Nebraska and Minnesota (where it twice failed to become the state reptile)^[11] eastward through southern Ontario and the south shore of Lake Erie as far east as northern New York. There are also isolated populations in southeastern New York (Dutchess County), New England and Nova Scotia.^[12] Its general habitat is wetlands with clean shallow water. It is known to bask on logs, and will wander far from water, particularly when nesting. Younger turtles may bask on sedge and alder hummocks.

Conservation status

The primary threat to Blanding's turtle is habitat fragmentation and destruction as well as nest predation by unnaturally large populations of predators.^[2] It is listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List^[2] as endangered in some U.S. states, and as either threatened or endangered throughout Canada, though it has no federal status in the U.S. The U.S. states in which it is considered endangered are Indiana,^[13] Illinois, Missouri,^[14] Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and South Dakota. It is considered threatened in New York.^[15] Blanding's turtle is also fully protected in Michigan as a special concern species.^[16] In Nebraska, this turtle is uncommon in the eastern portion of the state, but common to abundant in the Sand Hills region lakes, ponds, and streams. In Canada, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River population in Ontario and Quebec is federally threatened^[17] and the Nova Scotia population is endangered.^[18]

References

Bibliography

• Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley (2010-12-14). "Turtles of the World 2010 Update: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution and Conservation Status". Archived from the original (pdf) on 2010-12-15. Retrieved 2010-12-15. 
• Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Inverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status". Chelonian Research Monographs 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-22. 

Further reading

• Behler JL, King FW. (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Knopf. 743 pp. ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Emydoidea blandingi [sic], p. 458 + Plate 291).

• Conant R. (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Emydoidea blandingi [sic], p. 71 + Plates 5,7 + Map 26).

• Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR. (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Genus Emydoidea, p. 259).

• Holbrook JE. (1838). North American Herpetology; or, A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Vol. III. Philadelphia: J. Dobson. 122 pp. + Plates I-XXX. (Cistuda blandingii, pp. 35–38 + Plate V).

• Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr. (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Emydoidea blandingi [sic], pp. 44–45).

• Stejneger L, Barbour T. (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Emys blandingii, p. 115).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emydoidea blandingii.

• Blanding's Turtle Fact Sheet
• Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources Blanding's Turtle (Emys blandingii)
• Blanding's Turtle – Emydoidea blandingii Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
• Blanding's Turtle, Natural Resources Canada
• Blanding's Turtle, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

Family Emydidae (pond turtles) Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Testudines Suborder: Cryptodira Superfamily: Testudinoidea Family: Emydidae Genus Species of the subfamily Deirochelyinae Chrysemys Painted turtle Deirochelys Chicken turtle Graptemys Alabama map turtle Barbour's map turtle Black-knobbed map turtle Cagle's map turtle Escambia map turtle False map turtle Northern map turtle Ouachita map turtle Pascagoula map turtle Pearl River map turtle Ringed map turtle Texas map turtle Yellow-blotched map turtle Malaclemys Diamondback terrapin Pseudemys Alabama red-bellied cooter Northern red-bellied cooter Florida red-bellied cooter Peninsula cooter Rio Grande cooter River cooter Texas river cooter Trachemys Big bend slider Baja California slider Central Antillean slider Colombian slider Cuatro Cienegas slider Cuban slider D'Orbigny's slider Hispaniolan slider Jamaican slider Maranhão slider Meso-American slider Nicaraguan slider Ornate slider Pond slider Yaqui slider   Species of the subfamily Emydinae Clemmys Spotted turtle Emys Blanding's turtle European pond turtle Sicilian pond turtle Western pond turtle Glyptemys Bog turtle Wood turtle Terrapene Coahuilan box turtle Common box turtle Ornate box turtle Spotted box turtle Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2011 update: annotated checklist. Subspecies and the extinct (Gyremys sectabilis) are not included.