• native along Milk River drainage; populations in Cypress Hills, Banff nationa Park, Edmonton area, and Hines Creek possibly introductions.

Brief Description

• carapace smooth, without keel, oval in shape; plastron red or orange with pronounced markings; males smaller than females with very elongated front claws.

Habitat

• lakes, slow flowing water, oxbows of larger rivers; overwintering in mud under water.

Feeding

• omnivore: insects, molluscs, earthworms, fish, tadpoles, aquatic plants, carrion.

Reproduction

• mating: from late May till August, in water; in a 5-15 minute long pre-mating courtship, male strokes female with elongate claws; 3-20 eggs laid in flask-shaped nest dug in sand and away from water; nest site selection by females is of special significance because of temperature-dependent sex determination, see Janzen (1994) for more details.

Status in Alberta

• YELLOW B LIST

• very small population size; site-specific habitat loss could cause significant disturbance to localized and limited distribution

Other Internet Resources

• Chrysemys picta : The Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

• Chrysemys picta belli : Reptiles and Amphibians of North Dakota, Northern Prairie Science Center, Jamestown, ND, USA

References

• Anonymous. 1996. The status of Alberta wildlife. Wildlife Management Division Report. Alberta Environmental Protection, Govertment of Alberta.

• Janzen, R. J. 1994. Climate change and temperature-dependent sex determination in reptiles. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 91: 7487-7490.

• Russell, A. P., and A. M. Bauer. in press. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Alberta: A Field Guide and Primer of Boreal Herpetology. University of Calgary Press. 2nd Edition.