Grows to 8 in. Tan to dark brown plastron, plain or patterned with blotches. Head is small to moderate in size with non-protruding snout and a medially hooked upper jaw. Four toes on each hind foot.
Males have longer, thicker tails and red versus yellowish-brown irises.
From southern Maine, south to Georgia, and west to Michigan, Illinois and Tennessee. Prefers open woodlands, pastures, and marshy meadows. Chiefly carnivorous when young, more herbivorous with age. Eats snails, worms, insects, spiders, frogs, snakes, lizards, small mammals, carrion, plants. Several clutches are laid each year.