Photo Credit: hug_78, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Spotted Turtle

Clemmys guttata

Animal Class: Reptile

Length: 3-5 inches

Lifespan: 25 years or longer

Diet: Omnivore

Habitat: Wetlands in the Great Lakes region and eastern United States

Description: This small turtle is mostly black with yellow spots. Male spotted turtles have brown eyes with a brown or black chin, and female spotted turtles have orange eyes with a yellow or orange chin.

Although this turtle prefers wet areas and aquatic vegetation, it will spend time on land basking in the sunshine, and females lay their eggs on sunny soil.

Due to loss of habitat loss and destruction (specifically pollution and loss of wetlands), pet trade, and other human-animal conflict like cars, this species of turtle is considered endangered by the IUCN. In Canada, it’s federally endangered, and it is currently under review for protection under the Endangered Species Act in the United States.

Conservation Status: Endangered

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