# ID this turtle



## Ben E (Oct 1, 2004)

Hey I found some old pictures of a turtle that ii found in the pine barrens of new jersey. I am missing the plastron shot but it was hinged on the bottom like a box turtle....when i first saw it i thought it was a wood turtle but then after looking at it i figured it must just be a huge box turtle. Has anyone else encountered strange box turtles in the pine barrens???? thanks for looking. Ben


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2005)

It is definately a box turtle, Terrapene carolina, but which subspecies it is isn't known to me, it does look rather old though.


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## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

Looks like an ornate box turtle. A really big one. 

Luke


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2005)

No it wouldn't be an ornate, they live too far west. It's most likely a Easten Box Turtle Terrapene c. caolina, it appears to be the only box turtle in New Jersey, I just looked it up in the National Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles & Amphibians.


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## Ed Martin (Mar 25, 2004)

I think it is a hybrid. I know that wood turtles can hybridize with a blanding's turtle. I'm just not sure if the blandings are common in NJ. 
Here is a link to a hybrid that looks a lot like the one you found. 
http://www.woodturtle.com/photogallery/ ... age_id=175

Ed


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## andersonii85 (Feb 8, 2004)

Ben,

Looks like you found a melanistic Terrapene carolina carolina. We don't have ornata (officially, er naturally I should say) in NJ. The shell is way to smooth to be an insculpta, as wood turtles have a grooved carapace. Do you remember what county you were in? Before I left NJ Fish and Wildlife I put a few transmitters on some box turtles just for fun. Anyway, terrarpenes are highly variable in color. 

Justin


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## Ben E (Oct 1, 2004)

hmmm county im not sure it was near ?wharton? state forest or something like that....it wasnt really the color that struck me as bing odd but the very sculpted shell and just the size of the thing...way larger than a box turtle should be. I thought maybe it was an old one but generally the older turtles have a very smooth shell that is worn down after years of abrasion....i do not think wood turtles occur in the pine barrens so probably not a hybrid and it did have the box turlte like plastron. I think that it may have been some sort of a "giant freak" that had grown extremely fast and resulted in the very visible growth rings on the shell...stilla very beautiful animal hopefully he is still trucking around somewhere there. Ben


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2005)

As far as the size goes, I've seen them that big, it's not often, but an older turtle can reach those sizes.
And as far as the pyramiding on it's shell, it looks like it may of had a high protein diet, which probobly means it was someones pet that got let go.


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## Ben E (Oct 1, 2004)

Well as far as it being someone released pet....they must have hiked pretty far to release the turtle...notice the compass in my hand in the one pic...we were hours from a road....i did some looking around and found average shell size of 4.5-5.9 inches for eastern box turtles with a record of 7.8" when we measured this turtle its shell was right on 9".....here is a shot i found of the plastron


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## andersonii85 (Feb 8, 2004)

Ben,

Sounds like you found an outlier. I can see why some people may think that this is a cross. It even looks like a three-toed to me in some regards. Wood turles are threatened in the state of NJ, but that still doesn't rule them out. Box turtles will mate with anything.... I have seen them mount rocks and even a kickball. 

I can assure you that there are plenty of people that will hike out in the Pines to release animals. I have found box-turtles before in areas that were two days worth of hiking into the woods...just to find that someone had spelled out "sparky" with nailpolish on the carapace of the animal. It had obviously been a pet since it had the long beak that is often found in long term captives. NJ has some strange inhabitants (myself included).

Justin


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