painted turtle (redirected from Chrysemys picta)

painted turtle

Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta).

(credit: Leonard Lee Rue III—The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers)

Species (Chrysemys picta, family Emydidae) of brightly marked North American turtle found from southern Canada to northern Mexico. It has a smooth shell, 4–7 in. (10–18 cm) long, with red and yellow markings on its relatively flat, black or greenish brown upper shell. It usually lives in quiet, shallow bodies of fresh water, especially those with thickly planted mud bottoms, feeding on plants, small animals, and some carrion. It often basks in large groups on logs and other objects. In many areas it hibernates.