California chicken turtle

The **California chicken turtle** (*Deirochelys reticularia californianus*) is a subspecies of chicken turtle (*Deirochelys reticularia*) that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the wetlands, lakes, and rivers across California, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and western Mexico (including Baja California) to help boost biodiversity. The California chicken turtle is similar in appearance to the eastern painted turtle (*Chrysemys picta picta*), but has an unusually long, striped neck that is close to the length of its shell, with a yellow stripe on both the forelegs and rear legs. It has webbed feet to help it swim. It has a distinguishable net-like pattern on its carapace. The carapace is pear-shaped, and is an olive to dark brown. Females are usually larger than the males, and males have a bigger, longer tail. Males also have longer front claws. At birth, California chicken turtles are one inch in diameter, and adults reach from 25.4 centimeters. The California chicken turtle is medium in size compared to other turtles. The word "chicken" in chicken turtle subspecies, including California chicken turtles, refers to the taste of their meat, which used to be both common and popular in markets. California chicken turtles are omnivorous, eating crayfish, fish, fruits, insects, invertebrates, frogs, tadpoles, and plants. During the first year of their lives, they are almost completely carnivorous. The California chicken turtles strike out very fast with their long necks to catch live food. California chicken turtles are regularly encountered on land, migrating between aquatic habitats or seeking areas to burrow into the soil and escape dry conditions. Males generally travel around farther than females. They are social, spending much of their time basking on logs and rocks and swim in small groups. California chicken turtles hibernate in the soft mud, but only in the cold parts of their range, and vegetation of bodies of water. They are known to be timid but if caught they generally will bite very easily. Males reproduce with female chicken turtles by vibrating the fore-claws against the female's face. Once the female is receptive, copulation occurs. Nesting season depends on latitude. For example, in southern California nesting takes place between mid-September and early March. Females lay between five and twelve eggs. A period of up to six months may pass between the mating event and the female laying her eggs. Females excavate cylindrical nest on land in a variety of soil types, from sandy to heavy soils. California chicken turtle embryos go through a period of diapause in the late gastrula stage. They must experience a period of cool temperatures before development proceeds. Eggs hatch in 152 days at 29 Celsius, some eggs may overwinter in the nest before hatching. Incubation temperature influences the sex of the embryos, with a 3 degrees Celsius incubation temperature resulting in mainly males. Warmer temperatures result in an increase in female embryos, with only 40 percent becoming males at incubation temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius. The conservation status of the California chicken turtle is **Least Concern** due to successful conservation efforts, the California chicken turtle's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.