Blanding’s Turtle
Blanding's turtle is a medium-sized turtle with an oval, moderately high-domed upper shell and a long head and neck. The upper shell may be dark brown or black with many yellow spots or bars. The lower shell is brownish yellow with a large, dark-brown blotch on the outer portion of each scute, and the forward third is hinged and movable. Head and limbs are brown and yellow. The upper jaw may be covered with black pigment resembling a mustache. The chin and underside of neck are usually bright yellow.
This semiaquatic turtle may spend much of its time in shallow water along the edge of marshes, walking about on land, or basking in the sun on logs. Preferred habitat includes natural marshes and river sloughs, but this species also may live in ponds and drainage ditches. Blanding’s turtles eat crayfish and a variety of aquatic insects, snails, small fish, frogs, and aquatic plants.
This species was first discovered in our state in 1965. The total range of this species is centered on the Great Lakes, USA but it is listed as endangered in most places it occurs, due to limited numbers, a reduction and fragmentation of natural habitats, and heavy losses from nest predators, road kills exacerbated by human development of rural areas, and a very long generation time (36–47 years).
