page_title: Wood turtle
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Wood turtle / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta), male, plastron
context_page_description: The wood turtle is a species of turtle endemic to North America. It is in the genus Glyptemys, a genus which contains only one other species of turtle: the bog turtle. The wood turtle reaches a straight carapace length of 14 to 20 centimeters, its defining characteristic being the pyramidal shape of the scutes on its upper shell. Morphologically, it is similar to the bog turtle, spotted turtle, and Blanding's turtle. The wood turtle exists in a broad geographic range extending from Nova Scotia in the north to Minnesota in the west and Virginia in the south. In the past, it was forced south by encroaching glaciers: skeletal remains have been found as far south as Georgia.
  It spends a great deal of time in or near the water of wide rivers, preferring shallow, clear streams with compacted and sandy bottoms. The wood turtle can also be found in forests and grasslands, but will rarely be seen more than several hundred meters from flowing water. It is diurnal and is not overtly territorial. It spends the winter in hibernation and the hottest parts of the summer in estivation.
  The wood turtle is omnivorous and is capable of eating on land or in water.
context_section_description: Wood turtles grow to between 14 and 20 centimeters (5.5 and 7.9 in) in straight carapace length, and reach a maximum of 23.4 centimeters (9.2 in). They have a rough carapace that is a tan, grayish brown or brown color, with a central ridge (called a keel) made up of a pyramidal pattern of ridges and grooves.  Older turtles typically display an abraded or worn carapace.  Fully grown, they weigh 1 kilogram (35 oz). The wood turtle's karyotype consists of 50 chromosomes.
  The larger scutes display a pattern of black or yellow lines. The wood turtle's plastron (ventral shell) is yellowish in color and has dark patches. The posterior margin of the plastron terminates in a V-shaped notch. Although sometimes speckled with yellowish spots, the upper surface of the head is often a dark gray to solid black. The ventral surfaces of the neck, chin, and legs are orange to red with faint yellow stripes along the lower jaw of some individuals. Seasonal variation in color vibrancy have been known to occur.
  At maturity, males, who reach a maximum straight carapace length of 23.4 centimeters (9.2 in), are larger than females, who have been recorded to reach 20.4 centimeters (8.0 in). Males also have larger claws, a larger head, a concave plastron, a more dome-like carapace, and longer tails than females.  The plastron of females and juveniles is flat while in males it gains concavity with age.  The posterior marginal scutes of females and juveniles (of either sex) radiate outward more than in mature males. The coloration on the neck, chin, and inner legs is more vibrant in males than in females who display a pale yellowish color in those areas. Hatchlings range in size from 2.8 to 3.8 centimeters (1.1 to 1.5 in) in length (straight carapace measurement). The plastrons of hatchlings are dull gray to brown. Their tail usually equals the length of the carapace and their neck and legs lack the bright coloration found in adults. Hatchling's carapaces also are as wide as they are long and lack the pyramidal pattern found in older turtles.
  The eastern box turtle (Terrapene c. carolina) and Blanding's turtle are similar in appearance to the wood turtle and all three live in overlapping habitats. However, unlike the wood turtle, both Blanding's turtle and the eastern box turtle have hinged plastrons that allow them to completely close their shells. The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) has a shell closely resembling the wood turtle's; however its skin is gray in color, and it inhabits coastal brackish and saltwater marshes. The bog turtle and spotted turtle are also similar, but neither of these has the specific sculptured surface found on the carapaces of the wood turtle.
caption: Plastron
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot SX30 IS", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2012:06:10 17:11:21", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "234", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1174", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7464", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "160", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:06:10 13:26:38", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:06:10 13:26:38", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "255/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "149/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "149/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "45443/1000", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2109", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2947", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "4320", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3240", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1008", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "160000/9", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1620000/91", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}