Photograph of a painted turtle🦎

Photo: Jennifer Anderson-Cruz · CC BY-NC 4.0

SpeciesEmydidae
Reptiles

🦎Painted turtle

Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783)

The painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. This turtle is a member of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Three regionally based subspecies evolved during the last ice age. The southern painted turtle (C. dorsalis) is alternately considered the only other species in Chrysemys, or another subspecies of C. picta.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos
6
Photos
1
Measurements
8
vs you
≈ 1/170th of your weight
Conservation status
LCLeast concern

IUCN Red List assessment, 2011.

Population trendStable
Key measurements
Body mass
0.37 kg
Body length
not recorded
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
61 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Painted turtle

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
0.37 kgrecord 2.01 kg · ReptTraits
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Maximum lifespan
61 yearsrecord 61 years · ReptTraits
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Diet
Omnivorous
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Activity cycle
Diurnal
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Foraging mode
ACT
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Venomous
No
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Snout–vent length
0.25 mmaximum recorded
ReptTraits
Other figures ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

By sex

  • Female0.25 mReptTraitsv1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024)
Volume l
0.4 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Painted turtle yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classTestudines
  4. ›familyEmydidae
  5. ›genusChrysemys
  6. ›speciesChrysemys picta
Full lineage
  1. orderTurtles & tortoises · Testudines
  2. superfamilyTestudinoidea
  3. familyEmydidae
  4. genusChrysemys
All 13 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. orderSauria
  9. orderTurtles & tortoises · Testudines
  10. suborderCryptodira
  11. superfamilyTestudinoidea
  12. familyEmydidae
  13. genusChrysemys
More

More about the Painted turtle

In other languages
żółw malowany (pl), расписная черепаха (ru), 锦龟 (zh), Chrysemys picta (pt), Chrysemys picta (vi), tortuga pintada (ca) … and 20 more languages

Animals caught on camera

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