Guide to Distinguishing Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys spp. ) from Common Pond Sliders (Trachemys spp.)
Posted by Matthew Bettelheim in Field Guide, Herpetology, Western Pond Turtle on March 11, 2024
Laypersons and professional scientists alike are regularly confounded when trying to distinguish between northwestern/southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata / A. pallida) and any of a number of common pond sliders (Trachemys spp.) like the red-eared slider (T. scripta elegans).
You are not alone!
As pond sliders age, their distinct markings can diminish; male sliders in particular often become melanistic (an increase in dark pigmentation) with age that masks any distinctive markings (like the “red-ear” and striping) and/or enhances secondary markings (speckling) that more closely resemble a western pond turtle. While the marbling and speckling of certain western pond turtles is unmistakable, these characteristic markings can become muted as well through age and wear/tear; some western pond turtles are drab brown and any marbling only becomes apparent when submerged in the water, if at all.
Why is this important? With certain populations of the west’s native western pond turtle experiencing threats from climate change, habitat loss, disease, etc., it is important for Agency personnel and land managers to have the most accurate representation of where western pond turtles are, and are not; just as important is to know where invasive turtles like Trachemys spp. are encroaching on western pond turtle habitat. The western pond turtle is a California Species of Special Concern, and is now a candidate for listing under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Establishing the species’ range is critical to future management decisions.
To help iNat users and the public distinguish between these two species, I’ve partnered with @cnddb_brian, Rachel Freund, and Annie Chang to create an illustrated guide to help us sort out those tricky turtles. Remember, not one diagnostic trait alone is necessarily the silver bullet; we’ve identified 11 key traits that, between them, should help if you can get a clear look at a turtle from any one angle. Some traits might contradict others; turtles are variable, not only between species but also within species. You might not be able to state whether the turtle you are looking at has short-to-medium or medium-to-long claws, or whether it is more-than, or less-than 12 inches long from 200 feet away – that’s understandable. Hopefully, there are enough clues among these 11 to help you make an educated decision.
That being said, the two key diagnostic traits we would hang our hats on are (#7) the arrangement of the 1st vertebral and 1st marginal scutes (see Footnote #1) on the carapace immediately behind the turtle’s head/neck, and (#9) whether the rear marginal (outermost) scutes are serrated/toothed within each scute (= slider), or only show interruptions (if at all) at the seam between each scute (= western pond turtle). If you can get a good look, or a sharp photo, that shows either or both of these traits, you’ll make your job and ours a lot easier :).
The other 9 traits are also important, but there is so much variability that some of these can be open to interpretation depending on time-of-day/lighting, distance, wear and tear on the shell, the turtle’s angle of repose, and/or the quality of the photograph. Personal biases should be considered too:
- Don’t assume it is a slider because you are in an urban setting;
- Don’t assume it is a native turtle because you are in a natural wilderness area;
- Don’t assume it’s either species because the other has never been reported there before.
Those can be context clues, but not the sole basis of an identification. That being said, consider the natural range of the species and use common sense. Many pond sliders reported in southeastern states get improbably flagged by the image recognition software as western pond turtles despite a user’s location data. If you are in Texas or Maine, you can probably (usually?) make a safe assumption the turtle in front of you is not a western pond turtle. Unless you have solid evidence to the contrary – stranger things have happened, and unfortunately, people move turtles around.
Many of the photos uploaded to iNaturalist are nowhere near as sharp or detailed as the representative photos we’ve curated here. We’ve selected sharp, diagnostic photos to help train you and your eye to make heads or tails of those heads and tails. These photos are meant to condition you for when conditions in the field are less than optimal. And trust us – in the field, the turtle is going to going to haul itself onto a log with a carapace coated in algae, or the marginal scutes will be gnawed to tatters by a predator, or there will be a tule or blade of grass across the photo blocking that one key diagnostic trait we suggested you look for.
And remember, this guide is only meant to help users distinguish between native western pond turtles and non-native pond sliders, rather than identify either to a specific species. The north and southwestern pond turtles are more or less indistinguishable except by their geographic location and, if the turtle is in hand (please don’t capture/handle them), the sometimes-presence or absence of an “inguinal scute” hidden along the groin area of the shell. Meanwhile, there are any number of pond sliders to choose from. This guide, in essence, is a binary guide: native turtle, or nonnative turtle. If that is all you are able to determine, or if this guide helps you look for that one key diagnostic trait so that you can make that decision, we’ve done our job.
Good luck!
Footnote #1: scute = the individual plates on the carapace [top shell] and plastron [bottom shell]
Photo Credits (left): © Sarah Bettelheim and © Matthew Bettelheim
Photo Credits (right): © James Muehlner (a), Merav Vonshak (b), sqrlfrndz (c), grdrennan (d), Aaron Runkle (e), genobirder (f), and Sabin1 (g) under CC BY-NC 4.0 DEED; © Matthew Bettelheim and © Sarah Bettelheim
Created by:
Matthew Bettelheim, Brian Acord, Rachel Freund, and Annie Chang
What do Robert C. Stebbins and Stephen King Have in Common?
Posted by Matthew Bettelheim in Herpetology, Humor, Stebbins on August 21, 2018
What does the late herpetologist Robert C. Stebbins and the master of horror Stephen King have in common?
According to AbeBooks.com, not only did both authors write about all things cold-blooded, they also turned up among BookFinder.com’s list of most-searched-for-out-of-print-books-of-2017. According to the report, Stebbins’ Peterson Field Guides to Western Reptiles and Amphibians was keeping good company with such classics as Halloween, the 1979 novelization of the 1978 Michael Meyers horror movie hit; the coming of age classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High; Madonna’s controversial Sex; and the George Micheal biography Bare.
Why Stebbins was keeping such strange bedfellows last year is anyone’s guess. Hopefully, it means the next generation of herpetologists was stocking up on the west coast’s quintessential field guide. But if the world runs out of Stebbins’ 3rd edition any time soon, you can rest assured that a new edition is in the works. This October, the Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles & Amphibians (Fourth Edition) by Robert Stebbins will hit the shelves with updates by co-author Samuel McGinnis.
Book Review: The Cartographer’s Coloring Book
Posted by Matthew Bettelheim in Arts & Crafts, Humor on April 1, 2018
The Cartographer’s Coloring Book, by Terre N. Reliffe, Feaux•Afield Guides (www.feauxafieldguides.com), 2018, 41 pages, $11.95
Following in the footsteps of The Synesthesia Activity Book, 2016’s break-out adult coloring book, Feaux•Afield Guides is back with an exciting new activity book for GIS junkies, The Cartographer’s Coloring Book.
If you are an adherent to coloring inside the lines, look no further – you can rack up some soothing exercise as you change altitude from the comfort of your own home with nothing but a crayon! Make your own watershed moment with the Wetlands and Watercolors of the U.S. watercolor-by-numbers exercises. Or try your hand at ending the drought by connecting the dots of any blue-line streams to turn ephemeral creeks into perennial streams. By simply following the signature curves of each topographic line, you can bring the landscape to life. Is it a hill? Is it a dale? You decide!
But nowhere is the marriage of maps and arts and crafts more celebrated than Feaux•Afield’s centerpiece, a centerfold-out quadrangle maze that allows you to challenge your friends to see who can finish the labyrinth in 7½ minutes or less! And when you are done, make sure to rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to re-fold that very same 72-panel centerfold map in as much time. For those of you old enough to remember AAA road-maps, you can relive your family vacations all over again!
This activity book, which elevates cartography to a higher plane, is sure to make your cartographic comrades G – I – S – jealous. The Cartographer’s Coloring Book is slated to hit bookshelves April 1st.
{APRIL FOOLS DAY POST 2018}
Vintage Views on Vinyl – Bodega Bay
Posted by Matthew Bettelheim in Arts & Crafts, History, Humor, Natural History, Ornithology, Shameless Promotion on March 11, 2018
Remember Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”? The newest addition to my vinyl historical records is a sticker that serves as a “Tippi”-of-the-hat to Alfred Hitchcock’s ornithological horror film. Many might be surprised to learn that the origin of “The Birds’” dates back to the mysterious bird deaths that plagued the sleepy hamlet of Capitola, California in 1961. In the early hours on that fateful Friday, August 18, a flight of sooty shearwaters (Ardenna grisea) returning landward instead crashed into buildings between Pleasure Point and Rio del Mar in an event that was later described as “a rain of birds.” This freak occurrence has since been attributed to domoic acid poisoning (amnesic shellfish poisoning) produced by phytoplankton, or more specifically, marine plants known as diatoms. These bird deaths were tapped by Hitchcock as further inspiration for his angry bird adaptation of Daphne de Maurier’s 1952 novella The Birds to the big screen, set instead farther north in California’s foggy-trodden Bodega Bay.
I’m excited to add Bodega Bay (= “The Birds”) to the growing number of vintage images of California and Western States accumulated in association with the Vintage Views: Mount Diablo project I’ve undertaken with my wife (see Sarah Anne Photography).
Now, through the (bio)accumulation Etsy storefront, you can own these vintage views of the Western States as 3.5X3.5 vinyl stickers.
Vinyl Stickers
These 3.5″ x 3.5″ stickers are printed on premium vinyl with a permanent adhesive and are coated with a protective matte laminate that makes it durable and resistant to fading, scratching, tearing, and water. They are designed for outdoor use, and can withstand exposure to wind, rain, and sunlight, and can be run safely through a dishwasher.
Stick them to your bumper or car window, reusable water bottle, snowboard, skateboard, or bicycle… your options are limitless!
Price: $5.00
To see the other vintage art available to date, visit: https://www.etsy.com/shop/bioaccumulation