Turtle Journal

Rufus Retriever Meets Male Spotted Turtle

Turtle Journal’s Sue Wieber Nourse and Rufus Retriever visited the Goldwitz abandoned cranberry bog on Tuesday.  On Sunday, they had found a female spotted turtle basking on the bank of a bog channel at Goldwitz.  Since then, the weather had deteriorated into a chilly overcast with spitting rain.  No self-respecting turtle would be caught dead or alive basking in such un-turtle-like conditions.

Spotted Turtle Hides in Plain Sight

As they walked along the bog looking for turtles, salamanders, frogs and toads, Sue’s eyes caught an anomaly at the bottom of the channel.  She stopped, stared and confirmed that a spotted turtle was lying underneath.  (Take a look at the photograph above.  Can you see the turtle hiding in plain sight?  When you think you have identified the spotted turtle in the picture, click on the image and the solution will appear in a new window.)  Sue slipped down the bank, plunged into the water and grabbed the turtle in her bare hands.  Rufus skidded down the bank, jumped in the water and played. 

Male Spotted Turtle Drab Neck

Sue had captured Male Spotted Turtle #7, whom Don Lewis had first captured on May 7th, 2007 as he basked on the banks of this same channel.  Back then, he was recorded as older than 11 years, he measured 11.39 centimeters straight-line carapace length, and he weighed 189 grams.  The next time Spotted #7 was seen occurred on March 27, 2008, when he again basked on the same bank in 40 degree sunshine.  Notice the drabness of his neck which contrasts with the colorful female Sue captured on Sunday (see below).

Spotted Turtle Male Tail

Another indicator of #7’s maleness is his tail.  Note it is considerably thicker than Sunday’s female (see below), and also note that the anal opening falls significantly beyond the edge of his carapace.  Again, contrast with the female tail below.

Male Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) Carapace

This April Spotted Turtle #7 measured 11.45 centimeters straight-line carapace length, 8.5 centimeters maximum carapace width, and 8.1 centimeters wide along the suture between the first and second costals.  He weighed 194 grams.

Male Spotted Turtle Plastron Concavity

This plastron photograph illustrates all of his male attributes: the drably colored neck, the thick tail and significant concavity posterior of the bridge.  Spotted #7 measured 8.5 centimeters straight-line plastron length along the central suture and 5.7 centimeters wide behind the bridge.

Rufus Say Farewell to Male Spotted Turtle

After recording morphometric data and examining the health of Spotted Turtle #7, Sue released him back into the bog channel … with a lot of health from Rufus the Turtle Dog who escorted Lucky Seven back into the water.

Sue Wieber Nourse Examines Male Spotted Turtle

As sure as Saint Patrick drove snakes from the Emerald Isle, as sure as spring equinox arrives each year once rivers of green beer runs dry, a few days of sunshine and 50-degree weather will produce the first basking spotted turtle at Brainard’s Marsh on the South Coast of Massachusetts.  (See Spotted Turtle and Wood Frog Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, March 18, 2011)

Large Female Painted Turtles Basking at Local Bog

During the last week we’ve seen painted turtles decorating rocks at our local bogs and on the floating platform at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.  Yesterday, Sue spied two small juvenile spotted turtles sunning on the far, unapproachable banks of the pond at Brainard’s Marsh.

Spotted Turtle (Clemmys Guttata) 

So, this morning Sue came to Brainard’s Marsh ready for action with a long handled (10 foot) net to snag this handsome dude basking on the bank and to kick off the Turtle Journal’s local research season.  Spotteds are an extremely elusive small fresh water turtle.  For sizing, note the oak leaf in the photograph above with the mature male spotted turtle.

Carapace of Male Spotted Turtle

This 12-year-old male measured 11.6 centimeters (~ 4.5 inches) straight-line carapace length and 8.7 centimeters (3.4 inches) maximum straight-line width.

Plastron of Male Spotted Turtles

His plastron measured 9.7 centimeters (3.8 inches) long with a nice male concavity and thick tail.

 

Male Spotted Turtle at Brainard’s Marsh

Our lad hit the scales at 211 grams (7.4 ounces) and didn’t need to be marked because he had natural nicks at the 2000 suture and in the 3 marginal.  Some future St. Patrick’s Day researcher may be flummoxed by finding a turtle marked as #2003 in a tiny fresh water pond.  Perhaps, that future researcher will be clever or lucky enough to attritube those marks to a pint (or two) of green beer.