Common box turtle
Species of turtle / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) is a species of box turtle with six existing subspecies. It is found throughout the Eastern United States and Mexico. The box turtle has a distinctive hinged lowered shell (the box) that allows it to completely enclose itself. Its upper jaw is long . The turtle is primarily terrestrial and eats a wide variety of plants and animals. The females lay their eggs in the summer. Turtles in the northern part of their range hibernate over the winter.
Common box turtle | |
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1842 drawing | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
Family: | Emydidae |
Genus: | Terrapene |
Species: | T. carolina |
Binomial name | |
Terrapene carolina | |
Subspecies | |
See text | |
Synonyms[3] | |
Common box turtle numbers are declining because of habitat loss, roadkill, and capture for the pet trade. The species is classified as vulnerable to threats to its survival by the IUCN Red List. Three states have chosen subspecies of the common box turtle as their official state reptile: T. c. carolina in North Carolina and Tennessee and T. c. triunguis in Missouri.