Pond slider
| Pond Slider | |
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| Trachemys scripta elegans, the red-eared slider | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Subclass: | Anapsida |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Family: | Emydidae |
| Subfamily: | Deirochelyinae |
| Genus: | Trachemys |
| Species: | T. scripta |
| Binomial name | |
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Trachemys scripta (Thunberg, 1792), (Schoepff, 1792) |
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| Subspecies range map in the United States. Red: red-eared slider (also in Mexico) Yellow: yellow-bellied slider Green: Cumberland slider |
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The pond slider (Trachemys scripta) is a common, medium-sized semi-aquatic turtle. There are three subspecies of sliders. The most recognizable subspecies is the red-eared slider (T. s. elegans), which is popular in the pet trade and has been introduced to other parts of the world by people releasing it to the wild. Baby and juvenile pond sliders have a green shell (carapace) and yellow green skin with dark green striped markings. Markings and colors fade in adults to a muted olive green to brown or orange carapace. Some individuals become almost black with few visible markings. The carapace is oval and flattened for females, round and complex for males. The underside of the shell is yellow with dark markings in the center of each scute, making it easier to determine their sex. However, the markings underside the shell fade as the turtle age.
The origin of the name slider stems from the behavior of being easily startled. Which results in sliding off of a log or whatever basking platform they happen to be using.
The pond sliders are native to the United States and Mexico.
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Wikipedia