Terrapene ornata luteola

Taxobox
name = Desert Box Turtle

---

regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Testudines
familia = Emydidae
genus = "Terrapene"
species = "Terrapene ornata"
subspecies = "Terrapene ornata luteola"
trinomial = "Terrapene ornata luteola"
trinomial_authority = Smith and Ramsay, 1952

The Desert Box Turtle ("Terrapene ornata luteola") ranges from the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, New Mexico, and southeastern Arizona in the United States, south into Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico, where it lives in arid, open prairie areas. It is an omnivore, eating native vegetation, insects, and sometimes carrion. [Desert Box Turtle. Terrapene ornata luteola. Pima County Species Fact Sheet. http://www.pima.gov/CMO/SDCP/species/fsheets/vuln/dbt.html] It lacks the raised keel of the Carolina Terrapins, and its colors are muted for camouflage in the desert. The colors of the mature turtle are lighter and more muted than the colors of the young. Most, but not all, male turtles have red irises. Other characteristics of males include concave plastrons, thicker tails with the cloaca nearer the tip, and longer rear legs with larger, curved inside claws which are used to grip the female shell during mating. Desert Box Turtles hibernate in the winter, emerging in April to begin searching for a mate. Nesting takes place from May to July. Clutch size ranges from two to eight eggs, and incubation lasts about seventy days. [Desert Box Turtle. Terrapene ornata luteola. Pima County Species Fact Sheet. http://www.pima.gov/CMO/SDCP/species/fsheets/vuln/dbt.html] They can live 25 years or more.

References

External links

* [http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=all&search_value=Terrapene+ornata+luteola&search_kingdom=every&search_span=exactly_for&categories=All&source=html&search_credRating=All ITIS Standard Report Page]
* [http://www.desertmuseum.org/programs/tap_boxturtle.php Information from the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum]