
Passing the day with a friend

by Bob Orsillo
Title
Passing the day with a friend
Artist
Bob Orsillo
Medium
Photograph - Original Fine Art Photography By Bob Orsillo
Description
Passing the day with a friend - Original fine art wildlife nature photography by Bob Orsillo
Copyright (c)Bob Orsillo / http://orsillo.com - All Rights Reserved.
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Two Eastern Painted Turtles enjoying some quality time.
The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Four regionally based subspecies (the eastern, midland, southern, and western) evolved during the last ice age.
The adult painted turtle female is 10�25 cm (4�10 in) long; the male is smaller. The turtle's top shell is smooth and oval without a keel (ridge). Its skin is olive to black with red, orange, or yellow stripes on its extremities. The subspecies can be distinguished by their shells: the eastern has straight-aligned top shell segments; the midland has a large gray mark on the bottom shell; the southern has a red line on the top shell; the western has a red pattern on the bottom shell.
The turtle eats aquatic vegetation, algae, and small water creatures including insects, crustaceans, and fish. Although they are frequently consumed as eggs or hatchlings by rodents, canines, and snakes, the adult turtles' hard shells protect them from most predators. Reliant on warmth from its surroundings, the painted turtle is active only during the day when it basks for hours on logs or rocks. During winter, the turtle hibernates, usually in the muddy bottoms of waterways. The turtles mate in spring and autumn. Females dig nests on land and lay eggs between late spring and mid-summer. Hatched turtles grow until sexual maturity: 2�9 years for males, 6�16 for females.
In the traditional tales of Algonquian tribes, the colorful turtle played the part of a trickster. In modern times, four U.S. states have named the painted turtle their official reptile. Habitat loss and road killings have reduced the turtle's population, but its ability to live in human-disturbed settings has helped it remain the most abundant turtle in North America. Adults in the wild can live for more than 55 years.
Uploaded
January 24th, 2013
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Viewed 13,368 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 11/28/2023 at 11:05 AM
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Comments (144)

Gull G
Art provides an opportunity for kaleidoscopic thinking. Each time we shift the lens of our perceptions, we gain new perspectives — and new opportunities for innovation. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RECENT SALE OF AN WONDERFUL WORK!

Conni Schaftenaar Elderberry Blossom Art
Beautiful photo, Bob - I'm adding this to my Animal Photos and Art Images board on Pinterest - hope it brings you some traffic!

Bob Orsillo
Passing the day with a friend - Original fine art wildlife nature photography by Bob Orsillo Copyright (c)Bob Orsillo / http://orsillo.com - All Rights Reserved. Buy art online. Buy photography online Two Eastern Painted Turtles enjoying some quality time.