This update was written by Working Landscapes and Seascapes Scholar Tom Akre and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Fellow Jonathan Drescher-Lehman.
Wood turtles are striking creatures with bright orange scales, yellow plastrons (bellies) and often bright, gold rings around their pupils. In northern populations, turtles tend to be darker and larger to aid in thermoregulation.
Male wood turtles tend to have larger scales on their front legs, longer claws and longer, thicker tails than females. The best way to determine sex in adult wood turtles, though, is to look at their plastron (belly). A male’s will have a slight concave shape while a female’s will be completely flat.
Unlike some species, such as box turtles, wood turtles cannot hinge their lower shells to completely protect their limbs and tails, but they are able to withdraw their head straight back into their shell, hiding it behind their forelimbs.
The plastron, or belly, of a female wood turtle. Black pigmentation and the seams between scutes (shell segments) can aid in identifying individuals by photo.
A wood turtle with a GPS unit hides “in form,” mostly covered by dead leaves in preparation for nighttime.
A closeup photo of a wood turtles carapace (back) underwater.