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Terrapene ornata is a species of North American box turtle sometimes referred to as the western box turtle or the ornate box turtle. It is one of two recognized species of box turtle in the United States, having two subspecies. The second recognized species of box turtle is the eastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina.
Box turtle is the common name for several species of turtle. It may refer to those of the genus Cuora or Pyxidea , which are the Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of the genus Terrapene , the North American box turtles.
The ornate box turtle is a relatively small turtle, measuring just 4-6″ (10-15 cm) when full-grown. Males and females generally look alike but males are often smaller; there is color variation with yellow lines from the center of the shell to the edges through gray, red-brown, or black coloration. [7]
The western box turtle is endemic to the south-central and southwestern parts of the U.S. (and adjacent Mexico) while the spotted box turtle is endemic to northwestern Mexico only. The Coahuilan box turtle is only found in Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (Coahuila, Mexico). [2]
The desert box turtle, also known as the Sonoran box turtle, (Terrapene ornata luteola) is a subspecies of box turtle which is endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They are generally terrestrial but occasionally take to the water and are most known for their boxy shell and its structural integrity.
The exceptional box turtle Box turtle in garden The beautiful box turtle is in appearance more like a tortoise, in that it is terrestrial and superficially similar.
Common box turtles are official state reptiles of three U.S. states. North Carolina and Tennessee honor the eastern box turtle, [14] [15] [16] Kansas adopted the ornate box turtle in 1986. [17] [18] In Pennsylvania, the eastern box turtle made it through one house of the legislature, but failed to win final naming in 2009. [19]
Two bordering western states, California and Nevada, chose the desert tortoise. [6] [24] The loggerhead sea turtle was named by South Carolina as state reptile, while Florida chose it as state saltwater reptile. [nb 13] [14] [45] Florida also named an official tortoise, the gopher tortoise, the same animal as Georgia's state reptile. [12] [16] [17]