26 Facts About Painted turtle

Painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America.

Reliant on warmth from its surroundings, the painted turtle is active only during the day when it basks for hours on logs or rocks.

Originally described in 1783 by Johann Gottlob Schneider as Testudo picta, the painted turtle was called Chrysemys picta first by John Edward Gray in 1855.

Until the 1930s many of the subspecies of the painted turtle were labeled by biologists as full species within Chrysemys, but this varied by the researcher.

The Painted turtle was one of two reptiles chosen to be first sequenced.

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Similar to the top shell, the Painted turtle's skin is olive to black, but with red and yellow stripes on its neck, legs, and tail.

Painted turtle has a very similar appearance to the red-eared slider and the two are often confused.

The painted turtle can be distinguished because it is flatter than the slider.

At its northern extremes, the Painted turtle tends to be restricted to the warmer areas closer to the Atlantic Ocean.

The midland painted turtle appears to be moving east, especially in Pennsylvania.

In Manitoba, the Painted turtle is numerous and ranges north to Lake Manitoba and the lower part of Lake Winnipeg.

Almost all of Kansas is in range; the border of that state with Oklahoma is roughly the species range border, but the Painted turtle is found in three counties of north central Oklahoma.

In Oregon, the Painted turtle is native to the northern part of the state throughout the Columbia River Valley as well as the Willamette River Valley north of Salem.

However, the Painted turtle is confirmed present in the lower elevation southwest part of the state, where a population ranges into northern New Mexico in the San Juan River basin.

The Painted turtle holds large prey in its mouth and tears the prey apart with its forefeet.

Hatchling's ability to survive winter in the nest has allowed the painted turtle to extend its range farther north than any other American turtle.

The painted turtle is genetically adapted to survive extended periods of subfreezing temperatures with blood that can remain supercooled and skin that resists penetration from ice crystals in the surrounding ground.

In fall, the Painted turtle stops foraging when temperatures drop below the spring set-point.

Adaptations of its blood chemistry, brain, heart, and particularly its shell allow the Painted turtle to survive extreme lactic acid buildup while oxygen-deprived.

Decline in painted turtle populations is not a simple matter of dramatic range reduction, like that of the American bison.

However, in Oregon, the painted turtle is designated S2, and in British Columbia, the turtle's populations in the Coast and Interior regions are labeled "endangered" and "of special concern", respectively.

Painted turtle is sometimes eaten but is not highly regarded as food, as even the largest subspecies, the western painted turtle, is inconveniently small and larger turtles are available.

An Illini myth recounts how Painted Turtle put his paint on to entice a chief's daughter into the water.

In New York, the painted turtle narrowly lost a 2006 statewide student election for state reptile.

In California, The Painted Turtle is a camp for ill children, founded by Paul Newman.

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In children's books, the painted turtle is a popular subject, with at least seven books published between 2000 and 2010.