Raymond L. Ditmars, New York Zoological Society. 
PAINTED TURTLES (Chrysemys picta ). Length: 6 inches. Range: Northeastern 
United States. 
hind legs. Following this, the eggs were padded with soft earth which the 
turtle pressed down compactly. She hid the hole with more earth, leaves 
and grass. Forty-five minutes after mother turtle had come to the spot, she 
left without once having deigned to glance at her handiwork. 
SLIDER TURTLES 
Closely related to the painted turtles are the American sliders. Typical 
species such as the red-bellied terrapin, which like other sliders employs its 
legs in scooping out the earth to deposit its eggs; Troost’s terrapin, the 
males of which, like other fresh-water species, have exceedingly long 
mandarin-like nails; the long-necked chicken terrapin; the Florida cooter 
(“cooter” being an American corruption of the original African name for 
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