Common Map Turtle
(Graptemys geographica)
Photo Courtesy of World
Chelonia Trust
The Common Map Turtle is sexually dimorphic. Males are usually only 4 - 6 inches while females are 7 - 10 inches in length. The carapace is greenish to olive-brown in color and has a net-like pattern of yellow-orange lines. The pattern is usually more distinct in males. The plastron is yellowish. The skin is greenish with several yellow lines. There is also a yellow spot located behind the eye.
Females lay a clutch of 12 - 14 eggs from May to July and hatch in August or early September. The eggs are oblong and a little over 1 inch in length.
Map Turtles can most often be found in slow moving rivers and lakes with soft mud bottoms and dense aquatic vegetation. They feed on snails, slugs and other invertebrates. They can often be found basking with each other and stacked on top of each other.