Chrysemys dorsalis
Agassiz, 1857
Wayne Co., Missouri. October 28th, 2002.
Mingo Swamp in southern Missouri is a great place to view Southern Painted Turtles. On a sunny day they are out in force, basking on logs and swimming in the ditches and creeks. There’s no mistaking the species either – dorsalis has a nice orange ‘racing stripe’ down the middle of its carapace. Formerly a subspecies within Chrysemys picta, C. dorsalis was elevated to a full species. The taxonomic status within all of Chrysemys remains uncertain.
My Flickr album for this species is here.
HerpMapper records for this species are here.
