Painted turtle

Chrysemys picta · Emydidae

The painted turtle is North America's most widespread native turtle, with a rich evolutionary history that stretches back 15 million years. As resilient survivors belonging to the pond turtle family Emydidae, these turtles adapted creatively to the planet's changing climate. During the last Ice Age, they split into distinct groups and evolved into three regionally unique subspecies: the Eastern painted turtle, the Midland painted turtle, and the Western painted turtle.

Where the Painted turtle lives

Recorded in United States of America and Canada (North America).

Most records fall in Ontario, Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts and Illinois.

See the Painted turtle’s range on the globe

Conservation status

Least concern (LC). Not at risk: it is doing well in the wild. Categories are the IUCN Red List as republished by GBIF.

Sources

The range is a density of 141,952 georeferenced GBIF records, not an expert-drawn map. Description from Wikipedia.