THE REPTILES OF OHIO 



129 



Clemmys guttata (Schneider) 

 Spotted Turtle 



Description. — A small turtle. Largest adult Ohio specimen ( 9 ), had a 

 carapace 5 inches in length; smallest recently hatched juvenile, li/g inches. 

 Carapace rigid and covered with horny plates. Shell oval, relatively flat, 

 widest somewhat posterior to the middle and with an outward flare in the 

 region of the hind legs. No vertebral keel except for a slight one in the very 

 young. Scutes smooth or with numerous subconcentric rings rising slightly 

 one above the other, the latter condition especially evident in young adults. 

 The highest part of the shell from 44^c to 'y9^/c (males average 48.8%, 

 females 54.7%) of the length back from the anterior edge of the carapace. 

 Nuchal narrow, marginals 25, costals and vertebrals normal. 



Plastron large and immovably attached to the carapace. Head moderately 

 small; upper jaw notched. Tail moderate, longer in males than in females. 



Carapace black or brownish black; each scute with one to several bright 

 yellow or orange yellow circular spots, varying in the aggregate, in Ohio speci- 



Map 31. Ohio locality records and general 

 range of the Spotted Turtle, Clemmys guUala. 



