Conservation Status: Protected (Midland and Western only, FWCA); Special Concern (COSEWIC)

Size: 15 cm (6 ”)

Defining feature(s): Painted turtles have a uniformly dark coloured shell, dark head and a yellow stripes running along the head and neck.  The underside of the carapace is typically marked with intricate orange or red markings while the plastron is uniformly pale yellow (with dark central patch in Midland subspecies).

Other features: The shell is low with smooth margins and no central keel.  Males are smaller and they have noticeably longer claws on the forelimbs when compared to females.

Habitat: Painted turtles are common throughout Ontario in ponds, rivers, lakes, marshes, swamps and bogs.  They are most frequently observed basking on rocks, logs and floating mats of vegetation.

Reproduction: Courtship and mating can occur any time in during the active season but most activity is observed in the spring.  Nesting is observed in late May through to mid June.  Females excavate nests in suitable sunny areas in late afternoon and lay clutches of 4-15 eggs (maximum 20).  Hatching occurs approximately 50-80 days after deposition.